A $4 billion Chinese deal targeting a gold mining company in Mali is facing growing uncertainty as regulators in Beijing raise concerns over valuation and geopolitical risk.
Beijing’s regulators are casting doubt over a $4 billion Chinese deal to take over a gold mining company in Mali, Africa’s third-largest gold producer, raising concerns about valuation and political risk.
The move comes as China’s National Development and Reform Commission reviews Zijin Gold International’s proposed acquisition of Allied Gold, with officials questioning whether the valuation is too high and whether exposure to Mali’s mining sector introduces unnecessary geopolitical risk.
The regulatory headwinds have cast uncertainty over what would be the Hong Kong-listed firm’s first major deal since its IPO last autumn, according to the Financial Times.
The deal, agreed earlier this year, has already been viewed as a high-stakes bet on Africa’s gold industry at a time when bullion prices have surged to record levels, fuelling a wave of global mining mergers and acquisitions.
