China has created a state-backed iron ore company to oversee everything from huge mine investments in West Africa to buying the steelmaking material from global suppliers.
Leaders in Beijing backed the creation of the new company to assume broad responsibility for raw materials supplies to the country’s sprawling steel industry, by far the world’s biggest, people familiar with the situation told Bloomberg earlier, asking not to be identified as the information is private.
The establishment of the company marks China’s biggest effort yet to tackle what its officials have long argued is the excessive pricing power wielded by miners including BHP and Rio Tinto. China spent about $180bn on iron ore imports last year. Bloomberg reported in February that China was planning a centralised purchasing platform for iron ore imports. The plan has been under consideration for years, the people said. At the very least, it will be a vehicle to consolidate several overseas iron ore investments including Simandou, as well as raw materials purchasing for a handful of China’s biggest state-owned steelmakers.
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