CORRECTED - CORRECTED-CORRECTED-China Investment Corp eyes stake in Fortescu
(Corrects company name in second paragraph to "China Shenhua Energy" from "China Shenhua Steel")
HONG KONG, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp (CIC) is again in talks to buy a minority stake in Australia's third-largest iron ore producer, Fortescue Metals Group (FMG.AX), a Hong Kong newspaper reported on Monday.
CIC may bring in strategic investors such as China's largest iron and steel maker, Baosteel Group, and the country's biggest coal miner, China Shenhua Energy, if the talks progress with Fortescue founder Andrew Forrest, the South China Morning Post reported, citing sources.
"They've looked at this before, and now the price is in a zone that suits them," the newspaper quoted a source as saying.
Shares of Fortescue Metals have fallen 74.7 percent so far this year, compared with about a 41 percent drop in the benchmark ASX 200 Index. The shares hit a 52-week low at A$1.825 last Thursday and had returned to that level on Monday.
Forrest owns 35.82 percent of Fortescue Metals, the paper added. It gave no further details.
Last week, Fortescue Metals said demand for its products remain strong and its customer relationships are robust amid a downturn in China. Forrest said the group was in a strong financial position. (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Ken Wills)
