Brazil Vale seeks co-investors in Asia, Mideast

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 24 (Reuters) - Brazil's mining giant Vale is looking for co-investors from Asia and the Middle East to expand and diversify its operations abroad, the company's financial director, Fabio Barbosa said on Monday.

The director said that Vale was committed to expanding its presence internationally through acquisitions, in line with the current consolidation trend in the global mining sector.

Vale (RIO.N: Quote, Profile, Research)(VALE5.SA: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest iron ore miner, has been struggling to take over the Switzerland-based mining rival Xstrata (XTA.L: Quote, Profile, Research). [ID:nL17842827]

The merger is seen by analysts as a way for Vale to diversify its revenues away from iron ore, but Vale has said that if the deal falls through it has a list of other possible targets.

"We want to expand our investor base," said Barbosa at a seminar on Brazil's economic outlook for 2008 in Rio de Janeiro. "To diversify our investor base, expand our profile into other regions where there is economic growth and ... Vale could have interests."

He said that representatives from Qatar's $60 billion sovereign fund visited Vale officials last week.

"There have been conversations with other countries, Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, China and Kuwait," he added. "We presented our program of investments and it was received very well."

Barbosa said that the current international credit market volatility was making expansion more difficult, but was not sufficient to stop consolidation in the mining sector.

"Investment plans will not be undone by the crisis and I believe that minerals values will continue at an elevated level due to heated demand," Barbosa said. (Reporting by Rodriguo Viga Gaier; Writing by Reese Ewing; Editing by Marguerita Choy)