Vale Names Mendes Faria to Head China, Replacing Meriz

Vale SA (VALE5), the world’s largest iron- ore producer, named Joao Mendes Faria as country manager for China, its main market for the steel-making ingredient.

Mendes Faria, Vale’s director of iron-ore business development in Singapore, replaces Luiz Meriz in China, Vale’s press office said in an e-mailed statement today. Meriz will return to Rio de Janeiro to head iron-ore marketing, it said.

Vale, which has operations in China since 1973, runs a nickel refinery in the Asian country and has five joint ventures in the pelletizing and coal businesses, according to company’s website. The miner shipped 38.3 million metric tons of iron ore and pellets to China during the third quarter, 9.1 percent more than in the previous year, it said Oct. 24.

Vale dropped 0.8 percent to close at 40.50 reais in Sao Paulo. The stock advanced 7.1 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto in Rio de Janeiro at jspinetto@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Attwood at jattwood3@bloomberg.net