Get the Latest Investment Ideas Delivered Straight to Your Inbox. Subscribe

Platinum Mines Fail to Lure China

Share on Stocktwits

Source:

"Now, with assets at rock-bottom prices, rumors are swirling about whether the Chinese will finally start pulling their weight in a sector in which they have so far only been a consumer."

china platinum

Business Day Live, Dirk Kotze

ONLY something precious deserves to be hung on your heart," says Zhang Ziyi while dancing through dreamy scenes of beaches, sunsets and waterfalls. For much of the past decade, China’s most celebrated actress was the face of platinum, contracted by the Platinum Guild International to promote the metal in the world’s fastest-growing market for luxury goods.

Now, with the platinum industry reeling, an old question has returned: will the Chinese turn from platinum consumers into platinum miners?

Even though Chinese firms have long been traversing the globe in search of acquisitions, platinum has never been close enough to Chinese investors’ hearts to warrant much attention.

The only notable investment came in 2010, when Jinchuan, a provincial state-owned miner, along with the state funded China Africa Development Fund, acquired a 45% stake in Wesizwe Platinum for $227m.

Now, with assets at rock-bottom prices, rumours are swirling about whether the Chinese will finally start pulling their weight in a sector in which they have so far only been a consumer. Attention is focusing on Wesizwe Platinum, and whether the Chinese will use it as a platform for expansion into platinum mining. . .View Full Article


Get Our Streetwise Reports Newsletter Free and be the first to know!

A valid email address is required to subscribe