BHP Billiton has offered to allow an independent panel to monitor undertakings given to the Canadian government as part of the Australian miner’s drive to secure approval for its $39bn bid for PotashCorp.

Andrew Mackenzie, head of BHP’s base metals operations, told the Financial Times that the company would set up a six-person advisory board whose prime function would be “to hold us to account on the commitments we’re making”.
Five members would be from Saskatchewan, where most of PotashCorp’s operations are located.
BHP’s latest offer comes in the wake of a firm thumbs-down to the deal by the prairie province and amid growing public concern at the ease with which foreign companies have circumvented commitments made under the Investment Canada Act.
“In the past decade, promises about maintaining jobs, corporate headquarters and future investment have all been broken”, Brad Wall, Saskatchewan’s premier, said on Thursday. “We simply cannot take that risk with this valuable resource.”
The federal government faces a November 3 deadline to decide whether the Australian miner’s offer provides a “net benefit” as required under the Investment Canada Act. The deadline can be extended if necessary for further negotiations.
(Source: The Financial Times)