BHP Billiton 'influenced China investment policy'
Thu Oct 15 03:07:17 EST 2009
Wed Oct 14 16:07:17 UTC 2009
MELBOURNE, Oct 15 AAP - BHP Billiton unduly influenced federal government policies on Chinese investment in Australia, a former senior Treasury official says.
Stephen Joske, who was the government's leading China economist until July last year, told Fairfax newspapers that BHP Billiton exploited "policy dysfunction" to bend policies in its favour, in the process damaging relations between Australia and China.
Mr Joske, who joined the Economist Intelligence Unit after his Treasury stint and is based in Beijing, said: "My very strong view is that the key things that got the foreign investment problem going was government indecision and listening too much to the vested interests of BHP.
"Emails from BHP were circulating at the highest levels, copied in to ministers' offices, about all the 'China Inc' stuff."
An onslaught of Chinese investment in the Australian minerals sector began when Chinalco bought a 9 per cent stake in Rio Tinto in February last year.
Chinalco this year agreed to a further $US19 billion investment deal in iron ore production that collapsed when Rio Tinto instead joined forces with BHP Billiton.
Both investment deals affected BHP's strategy planning, the newspapers said.
The collapse of the deal and Australian government efforts to delay or amend other Chinese investments in the sector have strained relations between Canberra and Beijing.
A BHP Billiton spokesperson declined to comment.
