Taiwanese revenue will be reported as coming from ‘Greater China’: Rio Tinto

The Anglo-Australian mining and metal company Rio Tinto has formally changed its designation of Taiwan in its regular revenue reports. Taiwanese client revenues will now be reported as coming from "Greater China" rather than the previous designation of "other Asian regions," which excluded China and Japan. An Australian business-focused print media house reported the change.

The financial reporting house also published that Rio Tinto receives over 50 per cent of its annual revenue from China. Additionally, the Chinese state-owned mining and metal company, Chinalco, is Rio Tinto’s largest shareholder, with just over 14 per cent ownership.

During the 2008 financial crisis, Chinalco strived to acquire a more significant stake in Rio Tinto, but the Australian government occluded the transaction before Rio Tinto dropped it. However, China’s influence in the Australian mining industry has been under increased scanner from then on.

According to the 2009 ruling of Australia’s Foreign Investment and Review Board, any Chinese stake of 15 per cent or higher in the company is illegal.

Rio Tinto is one of the world’s largest suppliers of bauxite, aluminium, iron ore, diamonds and borates. Recent reports from Rio Tinto reflect no business activity in Taiwan, in contrast to earnings from China and activities around Asia.

The new AlCircle 'Global Aluminium Industry Outlook 2023' unveils that Rio Tinto, as of Q3 2022, produced 41.4 million tonnes of bauxite, a marginal increase from the output of 41.2 million tonnes recorded during the same period in 2021.