China's state-owned enterprises have always protested that they are ordinary commercial entities that operate completely independently of Beijing. OK, so Australia's defence department – and, by extension, treasurer Wayne Swan – isn't entirely convinced. Minmetals is determined to prove it. On Friday, after its bid for Oz Minerals was surprisingly blocked on grounds of national security, Minmetals said it still wanted to find a way to keep Canberra happy while satisfying Oz's lenders. On Tuesday – the latest in a series of deadlines set by banks owed A$1.3bn by Oz – China's largest metals and minerals trader put in an offer that would give it a decent foothold in Australian zinc, along with a high-quality copper and gold mine in Laos. Assuming the deal has been restructured with the guidance of the Foreign Investment Review Board, Minmetals may simply pluck out those assets, giving Oz more than enough cash to pay its debts while living on as a listed company.
This is the kind of pragmatism Chinese bidders will have to get used to adopting. Even routine minority investments like Hunan Valin's into Fortescue Metals, approved late on Tuesday, will be subject to close ongoing scrutiny. Minmetals, 25 times bigger than its target in sales, appeared to hold all the cards. As China's largest importer of copper, it has political leverage aplenty. And without the bid, lenders might have pulled the plug on Oz long ago. Formed through a merger at the apex of the commodities cycle, it was burning cash at a frightening rate; A$1.2bn in June last year had shrivelled to A$120m by year-end. Assets booked at A$2.5bn were made available for sale during that period, but various would-be trade buyers had wandered through Oz's data-rooms without lodging bids, perhaps reasoning that they'd pay less to take assets from the banks after an administration. Now, a debt-free Oz might even be able to turn the tables to rebuild its portfolio. Given the circumstances, something of a win/win.