Minmetals wants fund to help overseas buys

China should use part of its $1.95 trillion foreign exchange reserves to set up a fund to help enterprises acquire overseas mineral resources, said Minmetals President Zhou Zhongshu.

The fund could also include contributions from other State or private capital sources, Zhou, who is also a member of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said in an interview in Beijing on Friday. Zhou, however, declined to give any further details on the proposal.

Such a fund is expected to help increase the financing capability of domestic mining enterprises and reduce their dependence on commercial loans in overseas mergers and acquisitions.