Chinalco denies sale of Rio stake to CIC

AAP The Aluminium Corp of China (Chinalco) has no plans to offload its stake in mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd to wealth fund China Investment Corp (CIC), sources say. Reports on Friday suggested CIC may be weighing up a bid for Chinalco's 9.3 per cent stake in the diversified miner, giving Chinalco an exit from its rocky relationship with Rio Tinto. Chinalco last year sought to increase its interest to 18 per cent in a $US19.5 billion ($A21.31 billion) deal, but that was terminated in June when Rio Tinto revealed it would pursue an iron ore joint venture with BHP Billiton Ltd in Western Australia's Pilbara region. Rumours that Chinalco would reduce its interest in Rio Tinto have abounded since then. Sources close to Chinalco said on Friday that the reports it was set to sell its stake in Rio to CIC were incorrect.