Rio Tinto share prices fall after Reuters scoop

Shares in global mining company Rio Tinto fell more than 3 percent on August 10, the first trading day after Reuters broke news that the online edition of a magazine published by China’s state secrets agency had accused the company of spying on Chinese steel mills for six years to secure higher prices for the iron ore it supplies from Australia. Bloomberg cited the scoop by Reuters’ Beijing bureau, which was also carried by Australian media, CNN International and the Globe and Mail. The Reuters report was also posted on China Pol, an online discussion group made up of the world’s top 1,000 China watchers.