CHINA’S largest metals groups have spent nearly two decades as some of the mining industry’s most aggressive dealmakers, ploughing billions of dollars into assets from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Australia.
That era may be drawing to a close, with Zijin Gold International’s abandonment of a $3.9bn takeover of Canada’s Allied Gold Corp. offering the clearest sign yet of a shift in Beijing’s approach, said Bloomberg News.
Doubts had surrounded the deal for months, as security concerns mounted in Mali, where mining areas have become flashpoints for clashes between armed groups, prompting a deadline extension in May. Beijing had separately signalled it wanted tighter risk controls on outbound resource deals amid rising geopolitical tensions.
Chinese regulators never formally rejected the takeover but withheld approval within the required timeframe. Zijin Gold, a unit of Zijin Mining, pivoted instead to a $295m purchase of roughly 9% of Allied, whose shares fell as the original deal faltered.
The episode confirms Chinese miners are retreating from the acquisition binge that helped Beijing secure sway over global mineral supply chains, while showing reduced risk appetite has not meant an end to investment altogether.
Smaller strategic stakes, of the kind now held in Allied, could become more common, alongside oversight efforts such as the National Development and Reform Commission’s new state vehicle, Guangyan International Investment, said the newswire.
