Treasurer Joe Hockey has removed certain foreign investment conditions placed on Chinese state-owned enterprise Yanzhou Coal Mining Company that restricted its ownership of Yancoal Australia Limited
(ASX:YAL).
Mr Hockey says the conditions require Yanzhou to reduce its ownership in Yancoal from 100 per cent to less than 70 per cent.
They also required Yanzhou to reduce its interest in Yancoal’s former Felix Resources coal mining assets to less than 50 per cent by the end of December 2013 and in the Syntech Resources and Premier Coal mines to less than 70 per cent by December 31, 2014.
Mr Hockey says since those conditions were imposed, significant challenges have emerged for the Australian coal industry, including slowing demand, declining coal prices and a number of mine closures.
Yancoal reported a $749 million net loss in fiscal 2013.
