Australia\\\'s Rinehart invests Aus$500m in China milk deal

SYDNEY, Nov 15 (AFP): Mining magnate Gina Rinehart Saturday signed a deal to invest Aus$500 million (US$438 million) in an Australian dairy project to tap into the multi-billion dollar Chinese infant formula market.

Rinehart, who recently entered into a joint venture to export beef to Asia, said her majority-owned Hope Dairies would produce pharmaceutical-grade infant formula and UHT, or longlife milk, at a processing plant in Queensland.

The agreement was reached between Rinehart's mining firm Hancock Prospecting and the Queensland state government.

Chinese state-owned engineering firm CAMC and Hope Dairies' Hong Kong-based directors Dave Garcia and Dano Chan have minority stakes in the company.