China has decided to pool its six largest aluminium manufacturers to create a giant public company called ALUMINIUM CORPORATION OF CHINA (CHINALCO) that will be the world's future number three after America's ALCOA and Canada's ALCAN. The new entity will have assets equivalent to $4.3 bn and, with a production of 4.3 million tonnes in 2001, will assume 23% of demand in China for aluminium. It should make a profit of $290 million this year.