Chinalco's Wang Defends Terms of Rio Tinto Offer, FT Says

By Steven McPherson

May 4 (Bloomberg) -- Chinalco Overseas Holdings President Wang Wenfu defended his parent company's proposed $19.5 billion investment in Rio Tinto Group, the Financial Times reported. An increase in Rio's share price and rising commodities prices have undermined Aluminum Corp. of China's offer to buy $7.3 billion in Rio convertible bonds and invest $12.3 billion for minority stakes in Rio operations, the report said. Wang was quoted as saying in an interview with the Financial Times that the offer represents certainty, while market prices are volatile.