Australia has prolonged its review into a proposed US$19.5 billion deal between Chinalco and Rio Tinto, International Finance News reported on Wednesday.

The country's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) announced recently that it would prolong its review into a proposed investment worth US$19.5 billion by Chinalco into Rio Tinto by another 90 days, after an initial 30-day evaluation ended.

Chinalco signed an agreement on February 12 to invest US$19.5 billion in Rio Tinto.

A FIRB statement explains that it prolonged the review in order to give the Australian government more time to reflect on the deal.

"The prolongation is not unexpected in view of the scale, impact, complexity and sensitivity of the deal," said Chinalco in statement on Monday. "It is a regular procedure and does not represent any bias. We will continue to work closely with the FIRB and we are ready to assist them in any way in their inquiry."

The Australian parliament overwhelmingly rejected a motion by the opposition Green Party attempting to force Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan to reject the deal.

Chinese story link: http://intl.ce.cn/zgysj/200903/18/t20090318_18530673.shtml

(China.org.cn by Yuan Fang March 18, 2009)