BEIJING — The state-owned Aluminum Corporation of China joined Alcoa on Friday in taking a 12 percent stake in Rio Tinto. The Chinese company also said it might buy more shares to derail a hostile takeover by BHP Billiton, a merger that China fears could drive up prices for raw materials even further.
Chinalco, as the Chinese company is known, described its $14.05 billion stake in Rio Tinto as China’s biggest foreign investment. The company said it did not intend to make an offer for the rest of Rio but reserved the right to do so if another suitor made a firm bid.