Listed Mining Companies
Just what is going on in China politically and economically? In the days of Red China and the so-called Bamboo Curtain, commentators would say “it’s like China watching”, which meant there was no clarity at all. While it is not as bad as that nowadays, Time magazine’s May 14 cover story, entitled ‘The People’s Republic of Scandal – Murder. Lies. Corruption. Can China face the truth?’, must have added to the current nervousness of the global mining industry at a time when the great China-led economic supercycle has begun to slip and to dip. Chilling is BHP Billiton chairperson JacNasser’s comment that “it’s going to feel as if the ground is shifting under our feet”. We much prefer the sentiment of Vale CEO Murilo Ferreira that “those who have been betting against Chinese growth since the 1990s will be wrong again. China is just getting going”.
