West frets over China’s interest in Vietnam’s tungsten: sources

American and other Western officials are worried a Vietnamese tungsten mine and refinery may come under Chinese control, potentially hampering access to a major source of the critical mineral outside China, people with knowledge of the matter said.

- FRANCESCO GUARASCIO PHUONG NGUYEN

Heightened US-Sino trade tensions have seen China, by far the world’s dominant supplier of tungsten, restrict exports of the hard metal as well as other critical minerals in retaliation for US tariff policies.

The Nui Phao complex in northern Vietnam is owned by Masan High-Tech Materials, a subsidiary of the Masan conglomerate, which has flagged its interest in selling the asset, five sources said.

Two Chinese companies have approached two foreign firms, asking them to act as their proxies in bidding for a stake in the business, according to one person briefed on those discussions.

That would allow them to exert their influence without publicly declaring their interest, the person said, declining to name the parties involved.

Stake sales could meet resistance from Hanoi, which has hampered Chinese involvement in sensitive sectors in the past. That said, Hanoi has allowed large-scale Chinese investment in Vietnam’s manufacturing sector, and the two neighbours have embarked on joint rail link projects that were once seen as dangerous from a defence perspective by many Vietnamese.

Nine people were interviewed by Reuters for this article, most of whom spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the subject.