Rio complete $125 mln China aluminium smelter sale

SYDNEY, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto Plc/Ltd (RIO.L) (RIO.AX) completed the sale of its half-stake in a Chinese aluminium smelting business to partner Qingtongxia Aluminium for $125 million, the global mining house said on Tuesday. Rio, which is trying to sell up to $30 billion in assets to pay off debt, acquired the stake in the Alcan Ningxia joint venture, capable of supplying up to 160,000 tonnes of aluminium smelting capacity a year, when it bought Canada-based aluminium group Alcan in late 2007.