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ASIA DESK Tue 22/05/2012

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China slowdown continues

May 16 - 22, 2012

THE latest signs of a slowdown in the Chinese economy have unnerved plenty in the market, leaving question marks over the outlook for the resources sector.

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Changes coming in Chinese people power

May 9 - 15, 2012

DRAMATIC reforms are required if China is going to overcome its structural and demographic challenges and maintain its healthy economic growth rates.

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Rarely a dull moment

May 2 - 8, 2012

THE latest trials and tribulations of Lynas Corp in Malaysia and China’s most recent efforts to patch up relations with those countries nervous about its control of the rare earths market are a reminder of the ongoing delicate situation in the sector.

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Miners not raising the bar in Hong Kong

April 25 - May 1, 2012

THIS week marks a year since the launch of Clive Palmer’s failed attempt to list his Resourcehouse vehicle on the Hong Kong stock exchange. At the time, most observers felt that the unpopularity of Palmer’s venture among investors here would not affect sentiment towards other Australian miners hoping to list in Hong Kong.

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Tavan Tolgoi float now the bellwether

April 18 - 24, 2012

A FAIR amount of the momentum behind the Mongolia resources story has evaporated over the past few months, with at least some of that stalling related to the country's looming presidential elections.

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A tale of two citations

March 28 - April 3, 2012

LOOKING across the hordes that descended on the Mines & Money conference in Hong Kong last week, it was difficult to conclude that the market here is in anything but rude health. But the cheerleading masked a more robust debate taking place elsewhere in the city.

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Tawana story has new following

March 28 - April 3, 2012

THE junior iron ore sector was over-represented at last week’s Mines & Money forum in Hong Kong. Despite the competition for attention, one name seemed to be getting whispered in the various post-conference events being held in bars across the city.

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Do the math on China growth, says Teck boss

March 21 - 27, 2012

THE outlook for China is always high on the agenda of any mining conference, but BHP Billiton’s warnings over a slowdown in Chinese demand earlier this week meant the health of the Middle Kingdom took on even more significance at this year’s Mines & Money forum in Hong Kong. Teck Resources’ Donald Lindsay, Ivanhoe Mines’ Robert Friedland, and Fortescue Metals Group’s Neville Power all did their bit to revive the faith of the commodity bulls.

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Copper must be next on Rio's to-do list: Friedland

March 21 - 27, 2012

NO ONE, least of all Robert Friedland himself, ever expected the irrepressible entrepreneur to wind up working for one of the big boys. But sure enough Friedland is now effectively in the employ of Rio Tinto, and it seems to be proving a strange experience for the billionaire.

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Ten minutes of fame

March 14 - 20, 2012

ANYONE in any doubt about Asia’s status as the funding hotspot for the resources sector need only take a look at the incredibly packed program for next week’s Mines & Money forum in Hong Kong.

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China turns down the volume

March 7 - 13, 2012

CHINA’S decision to trim back its annual growth target from 8% a year to 7.5% per annum has already been nominated as the moment the China-inspired commodities super-cycle ended. But is it as bad as that?

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China still going like a train: HSBC chief

February 29 - March 6, 2012

THE China bulls may be shooting themselves in the foot with their latest infatuation with the country’s rail infrastructure, or lack thereof.

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Lynch looks for year of the tortoise

February 22 - 28, 2012

CITIGOLD’S decision to hitch itself to funds out of China makes it the latest Australian gold miner to tap into what is the world’s fastest growing gold market.

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Ampella boss stands his ground

February 15 - 21, 2012

AMPELLA Mining’s pre-Indaba release of mixed metallurgical testwork results from its flagship Batie West project in Burkina Faso hurt not only Ampella’s share price, but also the share price of other up and coming West African gold plays. But are the results as bad as the market would suggest they are? And does Ampella’s now deflated share price make it the next West African play up for grabs?

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Steeled with renewed optimism

February 1 - 7, 2012

IT SAYS a lot about the new improved air of optimism in Hong Kong at the moment that major profit downgrades from a pair of Chinese steel makers are being touted as a buying opportunity.

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Seeing some light in uranium gloom

February 1 - 7, 2012

THIS time last year, Gus Simpson was heading up a company worth $A320 million. A year on, the same company is worth just over $90 million.

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A fraudulent opening

January 25 - 31, 2012

THE latest corporate controversy out of Hong Kong’s resources sector has put a cloud over a $C1 billion dollar takeover of a Toronto-listed coal miner, and has highlighted a new risk for all miners looking to do deals with Chinese companies.

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Next up for Atlantic … bauxite in Vietnam

January 25 - 31, 2012

AS ATLANTIC’s newly commissioned Windimurra vanadium project increases towards its nameplate capacity, managing director Michael Minosora will gradually turn his focus towards the company’s promising but slow-burning Vietnam bauxite venture.

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Not all good as gold in China

December 15 - 21, 2011

CHINA’S love-affair with gold has not translated into a love for gold equities. Value appears to abound in the sector, but when and how Hong Kong’s gold stocks turn around their underperformance remains the big question.

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Life and death struggle in China loan market

December 8 - 14, 2011

ANECDOTES about a spate of suicides across China are among the more morbid – and disconcerting – measures of the country’s economic health.

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