China says Coke veto unlikely to affect Rio bid

BEIJING (AFP) - - China said it was not concerned its veto of Coca-Cola's takeover bid for a juice maker would trigger an Australian rejection of a Chinese company's attempt to buy into mining giant Rio Tinto. "I'm not worried," said Chen Jian, a vice commerce minister, referring to a plan by aluminium maker Chinalco to invest 19.5 billion dollars in debt-laden mining giant Rio Tinto. "From a business point of view, the acquisition is definitely beneficial to (both sides)," he told reporters. Chen was replying to a question on whether his ministry's decision to block a Coca-Cola offer for China's top juice producer Huiyuan could lead to Australia making a similar move against Chinalco. Australia said Monday it would delay by 90 days a decision on whether to let Chinalco go ahead with the acquisition, which would double its Rio Tinto stake to 18 percent. "There is no reason to make a fuss just because (the approval) is postponed for 90 days," said Chen. He also said it did not follow that blocking Coca-Cola's acquisition would lead to retaliation by other countries. "Other nations have their own anti-monopoly laws. They can make their decisions according to the laws," he said. His ministry earlier this week vetoed Coca-Cola's 2.4-billion-dollar bid for Huiyuan, which would have been the biggest foreign takeover of a Chinese firm. China based its rejection on a new anti-monopoly law, but the decision sparked concern that growing economic nationalism in China was causing a backlash against overseas investment. Barnaby Joyce, a senator of Australia's National Party, was quoted in the Business Day Friday as saying the Coke case "signals that China is prepared to play the protectionism game but expects Australia to allow China to buy into our strategic assets."