Sinochem Asks Beijing To Back Potash Bid

Sinochem International, China's largest chemicals trader, is reportedly asking the Chinese government to lend a hand to help the company make a bid for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan

, the Canadian fertilizer giant that BHP Billiton

is trying to acquire for $38.6 billion. BHP, the world's largest mining company, has taken its offer hostile, but Potash, the world's biggest fertilizer producer, has continued to resist BHP's overtures, calling the offers "inadequate." Potash has routinely said other offers would emerge and rumors have been plentiful that a Chinese offer would materialize. Sinochem would need to bid $40 billion to $60 billion to best BHP, according to Beijing's Economic Observer, which cited unidentified sources. It is unlikely Sinochem could afford those amounts on its own, prompting the need for government support. In its application to the government, Sinochem argued that Beijing should back a bid for the Canadian firm because potash is key to China's national food security, the paper reported.