We asked CMJ readers whether or not they favoured the proposed merger of Vale (formerly CVRD) and Xstrata. After two weeks the answer is in: 51% of our readers are comfortable with the proposal; 38% are not; and 11% are not sure.
This thoughtful comment was added by one of the respondents: "Conditionally yes the condition being that the company will be a fully publicly traded company that is not in the control of any sovereign state. Direct control of one state's natural resources by another nation can compromise the [state's] control of its own resources. The unquestioned sale of Inco to CVRD, a Brazilian-state owned company, is quite contrary to the negative reactions to similar overtures by Chinese-state owned companies, whether they are authoritarian or not. This sends a clear, unambiguous message of racial and cultural discrimination to the Chinese people and their government, which can have extreme repercussions in future international relations. Some people have very long memories."
Thank you for pointing that out.
And thanks to all our readers who answered our question.
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