Sinosteel Corp yesterday hardened its stance on the proposed merger between Australia's Midwest Corp and Murchison Metals Ltd, saying the proposal is unlikely to proceed without its consent as the Chinese company now holds 40.09 percent of Midwest.

Sinosteel, which is seeking to take over Midwest, also said that Murchison should be excluded from a Midwest shareholder vote on the proposed merger.

(Shanghai Daily June 11, 2008)