Aluminum Corp. of China, one of the world's biggest aluminum producers, agreed Thursday to invest $19.5 billion in global miner Rio Tinto Group in the country's biggest overseas investment so far. As part of the deal, Chinalco and debt-laden Rio Tinto said the Chinese company agreed to invest $12.3 billion in joint ventures in aluminum, copper and iron ore mining. Chinalco's investment is a huge boost for London-based Rio Tinto, which is aiming to pay back about $10 billion of its $38 billion debt mountain by the end of 2009 by axing some 14,000 jobs worldwide, selling assets and cutting capital spending. Such lavish spending, coming at a time when China's economy is being squeezed by the global economic crunch, reflects Beijing's determination to line up future resources for key industries. “Our objectives are to seek commodity and geographic diversification, with a view to achieving long-term financial returns from our investments,” Xiao said.
