Billionaire investors in search of higher returns scrutinise top miners
Mining firms’ management will have to adapt to a more critical eye and greater public notice as their businesses become more compelling to investors, one analyst says
Melbourne/Sydney — The world’s mining giants had better get used to the attention. Their recovery from a price collapse that sent the industry spiralling into crisis is delivering a fresh challenge — renewed scrutiny from major investors eager to magnify returns. Billionaires Paul Singer, Alisher Usmanov and Anil Agarwal are among those to add holdings this year after a rebound in profits from the lows of 2015 and 2016. Mining companies’ management will have to adapt to a more critical eye and greater public notice as their businesses become more compelling to investors, according to Brenton Saunders, a Sydney-based investment analyst and portfolio manager at BT Investment Management. "Everybody is being questioned," Saunders said by phone. "Investors have grown up a little in the post-supercycle period, in terms of the way they evaluate strategy." BT Investment manages about A$87bn ($65bn) of assets and holds shares in BHP Billiton, which is fending off a three-pronged proposal fro...
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