Bearing Lithium Corp (BRZ)

[Dr_Vonschellan]

Tianqi wants more of/from SQM... a lot more
https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/tianqi-quiere-intervenir-mas-en-sqm/BKRWTAD73VH2TK5D7FSOTLE3HQ/
... and I am going to make a wild guess here and postulate that Tianqi also wants a lot less focking horseshit from the Chilean government.

The Doctor

Tianqi wants to intervene more in SQM
by Leonardo Cardenas

The Chinese company, owner of 23% of SQM, cannot appoint its executives on the Chilean company's board, a veto that ends in 2022, but is renewable for another two years. The group intends to ask the National Economic Prosecutor's Office to lift this and other restrictions, and for this they changed their lawyers, hired Enrique Correa's company and is looking for economists for a study to support their requests.

A few weeks ago, a delegation of Chinese executives from Tianqi Lithium Corporation was in Chile and held a series of meetings with government authorities. The meetings were managed by Imaginaccion, a company founded in 1996 by Enrique Correa, former Minister Secretary General of the Government of Patricio Aylwin, which is dedicated to strategic communications and dialogue with public actors.

The first of the meetings took place on May 10, with the director of InvestChile, Karla Flores. There the group was headed by the deputy director of Administration and Public Affairs of Tianqi, Lei Wang; the vice president, Guo Li, and the legal director, Yi Wan. All three have Westernized names, are fluent in English, and introduced themselves as Francisco Wang; Frank Lee and Eve Wan, respectively. The meeting was to request information on Chile's new policies related to the development of the lithium industry.

Later, they met with the ministers of Science and Technology, Flavio Salazar, and Finance, Mario Marcel. But six days later, the Chinese executives returned to the center of Santiago, this time to Calle Huérfanos 670, where the offices of the National Economic Prosecutor's Office (FNE) are located, an agency in charge of defending free competition in all markets or sectors. productive of the economy.

The meeting with the National Economic Prosecutor, Ricardo Riesco, is especially relevant for Tianqi, a firm considered one of the five largest producers of lithium worldwide, a mineral highly demanded by the automotive industry for the manufacture of long-lasting batteries.

At the meeting, the Chinese executives informed the prosecutor that the company will analyze whether there is any background to request the lifting of the restrictions that the FNE imposed on its entry to the property of SQM, a firm where they share ownership with Julio Ponce. Tianqi bought 25.86% of the non-metallic mining company for US$4.3 billion in 2018, but the operation was later conditioned by the FNE to a series of restrictions. Also present at the meeting was the head of the FNE's Enforcement Division, Manfred Zink.
The message of memories

To date, Tianqi is subject to 11 measures that prevent it from fully exercising its position as a shareholder. According to the agreement signed with the FNE, the Chinese company cannot choose directors, executives or employees of its company to be part of the SQM board, nor can it request access to SQM's commercially sensitive information, such as investments, costs and future projects. In addition, any agreement with SQM must be previously reported to the FNE. According to reports, the Chinese company considers this agreement "burdensome" for its interests.

The restrictions last four years, renewable for another two years. But Tianqi has a window. According to article 56 of the agreement approved by the Court for the Defense of Free Competition (TDLC) on October 4, 2018, Tianqi has the option to “request, after the first four years of the measures have expired, a review and /or elimination of one or more of the agreed measures, if the conditions of their investment in SQM or those of the lithium market in Chile or in the world have changed in such a way that the restrictions and limitations are not justified”.

In an interview with Pulso, Frank Ha, the new CEO of Tianqi, anticipated that they would review the restrictions agreed with the FNE. “Once these four years are over, the natural thing is to make a new balance of the global lithium industry in 2022 versus what was in 2018. If after this evaluation we believe that market conditions have changed in such a way that the restrictions contained in the agreement with the FNE they no longer have any further justification, we could eventually discuss the matter with the FNE”, he said.

In 2018, the agreement between Tianqi and the FNE was opposed by Julio Ponce. At least three lawyers participated in the controversy: one represented Ponce himself, another Pampa Calichera -holding with which he participates in the mining company- and another who acted on behalf of SQM. The three said that any measure that was established would not be sufficient due to the risks to free competition and asked that the agreement between Tianqi and the FNE be rejected.