Briefs, December 30, 2012

A privately owned Chinese company is finalising the acquisition of an Australian firm that controls a major iron ore mine in west Africa, a move that would give China a stronger role in setting global iron ore prices, Xinhua said yesterday. Xinhua, citing the Chinese firm's officials, said Hanlong Group planned to complete the acquisition of Sundance Resources for 45 Australian cents per share by March 1, after submitting paperwork to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Sundance controls the Mbalam iron ore mine, which straddles Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. Hanlong is seeking a tie-up with Chinese state-owned firms and invested US$5 billion to develop the Mbalam project and build a 550-kilometre railway and a shipping port, Xinhua said. Operations are expected to start in 2014. AP

The PLA's youngest serving lieutenant general may have taken up his new post at its headquarters, after a revelation in a report on Friday. The protocol-conscious newspaper mentioned Yi Xiaoguang, 54, deputy commander of the Nanjing military command, in its report after Deputy Chief of General Staff Zhang Qinsheng, but before three other deputy heads from its politics, logistics and armament departments. Meanwhile, the military paper also said Major General Liu Zheng, previously a chief of staff of the General Logistics Department, was promoted to deputy head. Staff Reporter