Australian Regulator Ready to Rule on BHP, Rio Iron-Ore Venture

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30 Sep 2010

Australia’s competition regulator has all the information it needs to rule on the planned iron-ore venture of BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group, handing the timing of any verdict back to the companies “We’ve been ready for some time, but they don’t want us to make a decision,” Graeme Samuel, chairman of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, said in an interview today in Sydney. “We’ve got all the information we need.”
The regulator said Sept. 15 it delayed its decision after Rio and BHP, the second-biggest and third-largest exporters of iron ore, sought more time to make submissions and hold talks with overseas watchdogs. The companies are considering changes or a delay to the venture in Australia, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.
BHP and Rio “own the process,” Samuel said in the interview, rejecting accusations the regulator is taking too long. The commission won’t announce a ruling until reviewing its final internal report on the venture, he said.

Source: Bloomberg