China's Yanzhou drops privatisation offer for Yancoal Australia

SYDNEY, March 24 (Reuters) - China's Yanzhou Coal Mining Company Ltd 600188.SS has decided to walk away from a privatisation offer to purchase the 22 percent of Yancoal Australia Ltd YAL.AX it does not already own, Yancoal said in a statement on Monday.

Yanzhou, the Chinese state-owned company which owns 78 percent of Yanzhou, notified the Australian company it "no longer wishes to pursue" its proposal announced July last year, Yancoal said.

The proposal had cleared the foreign investment regulatory hurdle late last year, enabling Yanzhou to take full control of its local unit.

(Reporting by Maggie Lu Yueyang)

((maggie.luyueyang@thomsonreuters.com)(+61 2 93731819)(Reuters Messaging: maggie.luyueyang.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: AUSTRALIA YANCOAL/