Reuters reported that a bid by Chinese firm Hanlong Mining to take over Australia Sundance Resources will be held up by Australia Foreign Investment Review Board until an insider trading probe is completed.

FIRB has told Hanlong it would not rule on the bid which values Sundance at USD 1.65 billion until the Australian Securities and Investments Commission completes an investigation into three Hanlong executives for alleged insider trading in Sundance shares.

Hanlong, the Australian unit of Sichuan Hanlong Group, last week appeared to capture Sundance coveted for a major iron ore mine project in West Africa after a sweetened 57 cent per share bid gained board recommendation.

ASIC launched the insider trading probe in September and a local court restricted the travel of Hanlong Mining's managing director and others in connection with allegations of insider trading.

Hanlong stood down the executives under investigation and agreed to cooperate with the securities watchdog. Hanlong wants Sundance for its Mbalam iron ore project, straddling the Republics of Congo and Cameroon as the mine aims to initially ship 35 million tonnes a year, making it one of the largest iron ore mines in Africa.

(Sourced from Reuters)