The president of Chinalco, which paid $14bn (£7.09bn) for a 9 per cent stake in bid target Rio Tinto last week, insisted on Monday the company had no plans to increase its stake but would consider selling the stock at the right price.

The surprise acquisition of 12 per cent of Rio Tinto’s UK-listed shares by the Chinese state-run mining group was seen as an attempt by Beijing to block a $119bn takeover of Rio by BHP Billiton, the rival miner, in a deal that would create a virtual monopoly in iron ore supplies to Asia.