Sander Grieve and Zee Derwa comment in The Northern
Miner (TNM) on the Canadian government's new approach
to Chinese investment in Canada's critical minerals sector. The
new policy says that significant transactions by foreign SOEs in
the sector will only be approved on an exceptional basis.
TNM reports that soon after the new guidelines were released, three
Chinese firms were ordered to sell their stakes in three Canadian
junior mining companies.
Zee tells TNM he sees the new approach as a "significant"
policy shift, and said there was no precedent for the divestment
order. "Prior to these ordered divestments there hadn't
been a case where a critical mineral asset was ordered to be
divested in Canada." Zee noted that Shandong Gold Mining's
proposed takeover of TMAC Resources in 2020 was rejected because of
the strategic Arctic location of TMAC's Hope Bay project.
Sander says with the Canadian government's new policy,
"There appear to be a class of investors that are being
cautioned that their investment may not be welcome in Canada at
this point. I think the question that industry's got to have
top of mind is if that decision is made by the government that
there are certain investors we don't want, what will be done to
encourage the investors we do want, as we clearly are creating a
hole in the Canadian economy for the development of
projects?"
"There's been a lot of focus on China in particular in
this policy, but it is an SOE policy and there are a lot of SOEs in
the broader global economy from various states, so this should be
expected to have wider implications for foreign direct investment
into Canada and into Canadian companies."
Canada Draws a Line on Critical Minerals, but Leaves Unanswered
Questions is written by Alisha Hiyate.
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