Australian PM seeks assurances over sovereign wealth funds

Feb. 19, 2008 - PRLog -- Sovereign wealth funds looking to invest in Australia will be subject to increasingly close scrutiny, the government has announced.

Latterly, China's need for metals and resources to fuel its expansion has seen a number of deals from state-owned investment vehicles in the Australian mining sector.

Most recently, Chinalco bought 12 per cent of the world's largest diversified miner Rio Tinto for $14 billion.

In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, prime minister Kevin Rudd confirmed that he would be seeking confirmation on China's investment plans in the mining sector.

He said: "How do we fashion this long-term energy and resource relationship between our two countries?"

"China does depend on reliable sources of supply from Australia in a whole range of commodity areas.

"This will continue into the future and what I want to talk to the Chinese leadership about is what's their long-term strategy, and what are this country's long-term strategic interests as well."

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