SteelOrbis Shanghai
Executive vice president of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) Luo Bingsheng has said that, in the event of a merger of iron ore giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, 40 percent of the iron ore imported into the Chinese market would be directly dependent on the newly founded company.
Mr Luo added that the resulting situation would favor the establishment of a monopoly and be harmful to users. CISA officials also revealed their proposal to China's Ministry of Commerce that it veto the merger, adding, however, that the Ministry has not yet completed its investigation on the issue. The CISA has recently reiterated its opposition to the consolidation of the two mining companies and appealed to the antitrust authorities to veto such a merger.