Mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd
(ASX:RIO) CEO Tom Albanese is concerned that the global economy may fall back into recession softening demand for commodities in the next couple of years.
According to a report in The Australian newspaper, Mr Albanese told an audience at an industry conference in Florida, that he is somewhat concerned about a W-shaped recession.
The paper reports Mr Albanese being concerned that the recent debt woes in Greece, a likely slowdown in stimulus spending in both China and the US are all near-term risks.
However in the long term, Mr Albanese says he is confident that demand from China and India would underpin increasing demand for the company’s products.
The Australian also reports Mr Albanese saying that Rio is looking for projects to accelerate production and expressed interest in an iron ore project in Africa.
Rio Tinto earned profit of $5.4 billion in 2008.
