Rio Tinto appoints new chairman: Full support for Chinalco’s capital injection

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Rio Tinto, the world’s third-largest mining company, announced on Tuesday that Jan du Plessis, chairman of British American Tobacco, will be appointed as the company’s new CEO. In a statement, Rio Tinto said that du Plessis will take up his position at the company starting April 20 this year, with Rio Tinto’s current CEO, Paul Skinner, retiring at that time. Last month, Jim Leng, the main candidate to succeed the current leader of Rio Tinto, left the company’s board of directors. Analysts say that Jim Leng’s opposition to a capital injection deal between Rio Tinto and Chinalco was a key reason for his departure. Under the capital injection agreement reached between Chalco and Rio Tinto, with a total value of $19.5 billion, Chalco will acquire stakes in some of Rio Tinto’s key mines; furthermore, Chalco may increase its shareholding in Rio Tinto to as high as 18%. 　　According to the statement issued by Rio Tinto Group, while taking on the role of CEO at Rio Tinto, Du Lishi will continue to serve as chairman of British American Tobacco Group. Since the world’s largest mining group, BHP Billiton, announced in 2008 that it would cancel its acquisition plan, Rio Tinto has faced continuous troubles. Currently, the company’s debt, amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars, is about to mature, and the funding agreement reached with Chinalco has been blocked by the company’s major shareholders as well as Australia’s **. 　　Du Lishi said in this statement: “Our current priority is to provide Rio Tinto with the best platform possible to help shareholders achieve greater returns.” On the other hand, we also need to use this platform to withstand the tough global economic conditions and the uncertainties in future markets. ”At the same time, Du Lishi also expressed his support for China Aluminium Corporation’s investment, saying, “Completing the deal with China Aluminium in the shortest possible time will provide Rio Tinto with an ideal platform.” Through the transaction with Chinalco, our financial situation will be significantly improved and we will be in a more favorable competitive position; thus, when the global economy recovers, our business will thrive once again. ” 　　Currently, Du Lishi also serves as an non-executive director at the British banking giant Lloyds Bank, as well as chairing the company’s audit committee. However, Rio Tinto stated in its statement that Duli Shi plans to step down from his position at Lloyds Bank