澳洲取消與中國相關的稀土投資

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Australia Knocks Back China-Linked Investment in Rare Earths

Ben Westcott

Wed, March 1, 2023 at 12:28 a.m. PST

(Bloomberg) -- Australia has quietly blocked a bid by a Chinese-linked company to increase its ownership in rare earths supplier Northern Minerals Ltd., one of the first tests of warmer diplomatic ties between Canberra and Beijing.

The Singapore-based Yuxiao Fund applied in August 2022 to increase its ownership of Northern Minerals to 19.9%, almost doubling its stake. Northern Minerals executive chairman Nick Curtis told Bloomberg the fund was owned by Wu Yuxiao, a Chinese national who invests in commodities internationally.

But an order prohibiting the move was officially issued by Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Feb. 15, based on advice from the Foreign Review Investment Board. The move was “consistent with other decisions taken by other governments in the past,” Chalmers said in Canberra on Wednesday, without giving further details.

The bid rejection was first reported by Reuters. Bloomberg was unable to find a phone number or email to contact Yuxiao Fund.

Relations between China and Australia have improved following the election of the center-left Labor government in May 2022. Ministerial meetings between the two countries have resumed and some Chinese trade sanctions against Australian exports have been removed.

Meanwhile, Western nations including Australia are pushing to reduce China’s role in supply chains for rare earths and other so-called critical minerals. In November, Chalmers announced a Treasury review of foreign investment in the sector.

“We’ll need to be more assertive about encouraging investment that clearly aligns with our national interest in the longer term,” Chalmers said at the time.

Beijing has made it clear they would like to see further relaxation of foreign investment restrictions in Australia. In early January, China’s Tianqi Lithium Corp. agreed to purchase an Australian lithium explorer, a deal which will also need government approval to go ahead.

Later in January, Chinese Ambassador Xiao Qian specifically mentioned the battery material lithium as one possible area of investment during a press conference in Canberra.

Translation

（彭博社）- 澳洲悄悄阻止了一家與中國有關聯的公司增加其在稀土供應商 Northern Minerals Ltd. 的股權的投標，這是對堪培拉和北京之間外交關係回暖後的首個考驗之一。

總部位於新加坡的Yuxiao基金於 2022 年 8 月申請將其在Northern Minerals Ltd. 的持股比例提高至 19.9%，幾乎翻了一番。 Northern Minerals 執行主席 Nick Curtis 告訴彭博社，該基金由中國公民Wu Yuxiao所有，他在國際上投資大宗商品。

但根據外國審查投資委員會的建議，澳洲財政部長Jim Chalmers 於 2 月 15 日正式發布了禁止此舉的命令。 Chalmers週三在堪培拉表示，此舉 “與其他政府過去做出的其他決定一致”，但未提供更多細節。

路透社最先報導了投標被拒絕的消息。 彭博社無法找到聯繫Yuxiao基金的電話號碼或電子郵件地址。

在2022 年 5 月澳洲左翼工黨當選後，中澳關係有所改善。兩國部長級會議已恢復，中國對澳大利亞出口的部分貿易制裁已被取消。

與此同時，包括澳洲在內的西方國家正在努力減少中國在稀土和其他所謂關鍵礦物供應鏈中的作用。 11 月，Chalmers 宣布財政部對該行業的外國投資進行審查。

Chalmers當時表示 :“我們需要更加自信地鼓勵明顯符合我們國家長期利益的投資”。

北京已明確表示，他們希望看到澳洲進一步放寬外國投資限制。 1 月初，中國Tianqi鋰業同意收購一家澳洲鋰勘探公司，該交易也需要獲得政府批准才能進行。

1 月下旬，中國大使Xiao Qian在堪培拉的新聞發布會上特別提到電池材料鋰是一個可能的投資領域。

So, Australia has quietly blocked a bid by a Chinese-linked company to increase its ownership in rare earths supplier Northern Minerals Ltd., one of the first tests of warmer diplomatic ties between Canberra and Beijing. I am interested in knowing how China will react to this.