Nova Ekonomija: Chinese company single biggest Rio Tinto shareholder

It said that the Aluminum Corporation of China is the single biggest shareholder in the Rio Tinto company which wants to open a lithium mine in the Jadar area, adding that the Chinese company owns 11 percent of Rio Tinto shares.

Nova Ekonomija said that Rio Tinto has renewed efforts to get the project back on track after it was derailed by Prime Minister Ana Brnabic’s government and has the support of a number of European countries who want to reduce their dependence on China for lithium.

It quoted Martin Sebena, chief economist at the Central European Institute for Asian Studies, who said Rio Tinto is not a Chinese company and that the other shareholders are global companies such as BlackRock and Vanguard. He recalled that Serbia does not limit Chinese investments like other countries do. That view was confirmed by Belgrade University Economics Professor Dusan Markovic who said that Serbia allows mining sector companies to have Chinese shareholders.