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Strategies & Market Trends : China Warehouse- More Than Crockery -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (4380)	2/12/2005 1:02:36 AM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6370

Green light for uranium takeover By Louise Dodson, James Chessel and Kate Askew February 12, 2005 The Federal Government is hoping a new uranium resources boom will result from the Treasurer, Peter Costello, giving a green light for a controversial foreign takeover bid by the Anglo-Swiss miner, Xstrata, for Australia's WMC Resources. Announcing the decision on the $8.4billion bid yesterday, Mr Costello said the Government would like Xstrata to expand uranium operations in Australia. He said there was a possibility that WMC's giant Olympic Dam mine in South Australia, with over a third of the world's known uranium, would be developed more extensively if the Xstrata bid went ahead. But his decision to give the all-clear to the hostile takeover bid has provoked a storm of protest about foreign acquisition of Australian resources and environmental and nuclear proliferation issues. Some Government MPs are concerned the decision was not in the national interest. "My concerns are that Xstrata could now be gobbling up several Australian icons," a Western Australian Liberal senator, Ross Lightfoot, told the Herald. Advertisement AdvertisementHe also warned that if Xstrata won control of WMC, it could shut down nickel operations in Australia to prevent them competing with other countries. Environmental and nuclear concerns were raised by the Australian Democrats leader, Lyn Allison, who condemned the Government's support of Xstrata's takeover bid when North Korea had announced it possessed nuclear weapons. "The Democrats do not support any expansion of efforts to mine Australian uranium and are very concerned about the proposal to expand uranium exports from Olympic Dam, which contains 38 per cent of the world's known uranium deposits, and the push to include China and India as markets for Australian uranium," she said. Mr Costello said the Government's approval was on the basis Xstrata would abide by federal and state laws regulating the mining and export of uranium. Australia had been approached by China to supply uranium. The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, said he told the Chinese Government that Australia would export uranium only on condition there was a nuclear safeguards agreement. "And so that is a matter for negotiations between Australia and China," Mr Downer said. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials are already negotiating on this. "These conditions imposed by the Treasurer are essential and we will be holding the Government accountable in terms of their application,' Labor's treasury spokesman, Wayne Swan, said Mr Costello's approval could lead to a bidding war for WMC, with rival bids expected from BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto expected, according to brokers such as Merrill Lynch. Shares in WMC closed 21 centhttp://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Green-light-for-uranium-takeover/2005/02/11/1108061872284.html?oneclick=trues higher yesterday at $7.70.