RIO TINTO

An Australian executive of Rio Tinto, one of the world’s biggest mining companies and a major player in the Chinese market, is being held by Chinese officials on suspicion of stealing state secrets, an Australian government official said Wednesday.

A Chinese official is quoted as saying "I cannot divulge the state secrets in question, but it is recommended that Rio Tinto reverse its very unwise decision to scrap the planned $19.5 billion investment by the State owned Chinese company Chinalco with all deliberate speed.