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Barrick says it has settled Blanchard anti-trust case; no details announced
By Elaine Kurtenbach
The Associated Press
via The Globe and Mail, Toronto
Friday, November 18, 2005
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/200511
18/IBCOPPER18/TPBusiness/International
SHANGHAI -- China has investigated trading losses on the London
Metal Exchange by a Beijing-based copper trader and concluded that
the government was not responsible because he was acting on his own,
a state-run newspaper reported yesterday.
The China Daily said Liu Qibing, whom it identified as "the former
import division chief of the National Control Centre for the Reserve
Bureau," had built a "massive short position" on the LME, selling
copper on expectations that prices would fall and he could buy it
back cheaper, netting big profits.
Instead, prices have surged to record levels amid uncertainty over
whether China will buy heavily overseas to fulfill the contract.
Copper prices hit a record high on the LME yesterday as investors
gambled that China, despite denials, may be forced to cover a big
loss-making position. Three-month copper futures touched a record
$4,185 (U.S.) a tonne, recovering from a near 3-per-cent slide early
on Wednesday.
Copper ended trading in London at $4,145, up $5 from Wednesday.
The report said the National Development and Reform Commission,
which oversees the reserve bureau and is China's main economic
planning agency, was involved in the investigation into Mr. Liu's
trading activities.
"Initial investigation found that Mr. Liu alone should be blamed for
the loss," the newspaper quoted an unnamed official at the State
Reserve Bureau as saying.
"As far as I know, the loss was a result of his personal actions,
instead of the government," the official was quoted as saying in the
report. Officials at the State Reserve Bureau, which manages the
country's copper reserves, have refused to comment.
The report was the first reference by China's media to news that has
rocked the world copper market.
The English-language China Daily is often seen as a vehicle for
communicating China's positions on issues to the world.
Mr. Liu, once one of the most prominent traders dealing on behalf of
the Chinese government, has disappeared from public view in recent
weeks.
The China Daily said Mr. Liu sold between 110,000 and 220,000 tonnes
of copper, to be delivered to LME warehouses by Dec. 21, running up
losses totalling several million dollars.
Seeking to blunt rising prices and boost supply, the State Reserve
Bureau auctioned off 22,000 tonnes of copper reserves on Wednesday
and announced it would sell off another 22,000 next week.
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