Greens wake up to China’s coal boom
Last week I wrote about the spike in Chinese demand for coal, which was driving a boom in coal M&A deals.
The phenomenon has not gone unnoticed by environmental campaigners, many of whom are quoted in a piece today in the New York Times.
The paper reports:
At ports in Canada, Australia, Indonesia, Colombia and South Africa, ships are lining up to load coal for furnaces in China, which has evolved virtually overnight from a coal exporter to one of the world’s leading purchasers.
China’s coal demand drives another M&A deal
Just two days ago the Wall Street Journal picked up on Chinese state media reports that the government was worried it might run out of coal. The paper reported:
State-run media reported that Beijing is considering capping domestic coal output in the 2011-2015 period, partly because officials worry miners are running down reserves too quickly to meet the needs of a rapidly expanding economy.
Those signals have been picked up by companies around the entire world, who are now clamouring to meet that demand.
By Paul Francis-Grey of mergermarket
Vallar, the mining investment vehicle of UK businessman Nathaniel Rothschild, has staked its future on Indonesia’s coal boom – in a deal which would create the first Indonesian-controlled company on the London Stock Exchange.
The company has paid $3bn for 75 per cent of Berau Coal Energy and 25 per cent of Bumi Resources – respectively Indonesia’s biggest and fifth-biggest coal miners. Part of the price will be paid in Vallar stock, with Bumi’s owners, the Bakrie Group, becoming the largest shareholder in the company.
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