"We're not actively seeking to increase our stake right now," Alcoa Australia Managing Director Alan Cransberg told Reuters after a speech in Melbourne.

Chinalco vice president and spokesman Lu Youqing said this week Chinalco plans to lift its stake in Rio to at least 14.99 percent after BHP abandoned a $66 billion bid to buy Rio Tinto on Tuesday.

"From Alcoa's point of view ... I would have thought for them to put up more capital would be a fairly high-risk move at this point," said Ben Kakoschke, commodities analyst at Tolhurst.

"Fitch have downgraded the credit rating of (Rio), Moody's are looking to downgrade. So it makes a pretty high-risk move to be throwing more money at it at this stage," he said.

Alcoa has slashed production capacity by 615,000 tonnes, or 15 percent of its total capacity, as aluminium prices have halved since June to around $1,785 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange. Demand has shrivelled and inventories held in LME warehouses have ballooned due to a deepening global economic crisis.

Ratings agency Fitch has lowered its rating on Rio Tinto while rating agency Moody's has said it may lower its A3 senior unsecured rating on Rio Tinto as the company generates lower cash and battles high debt levels after its $38.1 billion purchase of Canadian-based aluminium producer Alcan last year.

Lu said Chinalco might consider seeking as much as 49.99 percent of Rio, but that was an idea that had been suggested by investment bankers and was not the company's policy.

Later, Chinalco issued a statement to clarify its stance.

"Chinalco has not made any decision in respect of its investment options in Rio Tinto, including the possibility of increasing its holding above 15.00 percent," it said.

Rio shares last traded up 9 percent at A$46.71 in a broader market up 3 percent. Rio shares had stood at over A$155 in May.

($1=A$1.52)

(Editing Lincoln Feast)

((miranda.maxwell@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: miranda.maxwell.reuters .com@reuters.net; +61-3 9286-1464)) Keywords: ALCOA/

(Adds analyst comment, details, byline)

By Miranda Maxwell

MELBOURNE, Nov 28, Nov 27, - U.S. aluminium giant Alcoa Inc is not actively seeking to raise its stake in miner Rio Tinto Ltd despite plans by its ally, Chinalco, to up its Rio holding.

Alcoa and state-owned Aluminium Corp of China (Chinalco) teamed up in February to buy 12 percent of Rio's London shares, or 9 percent of Rio's total share registry, for about $14 billion in a move that followed a hostile takeover bid for Rio from rival BHP Billiton.

"We're not actively seeking to increase our stake right now," Alcoa Australia Managing Director Alan Cransberg told Reuters after a speech in Melbourne.

Chinalco vice president and spokesman Lu Youqing said this week Chinalco plans to lift its stake in Rio to at least 14.99 percent after BHP abandoned a $66 billion bid to buy Rio Tinto on Tuesday.

"From Alcoa's point of view ... I would have thought for them to put up more capital would be a fairly high-risk move at this point," said Ben Kakoschke, commodities analyst at Tolhurst.

"Fitch have downgraded the credit rating of (Rio), Moody's are looking to downgrade. So it makes a pretty high-risk move to be throwing more money at it at this stage," he said.

Alcoa has slashed production capacity by 615,000 tonnes, or 15 percent of its total capacity, as aluminium prices have halved since June to around $1,785 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange. Demand has shrivelled and inventories held in LME warehouses have ballooned due to a deepening global economic crisis.

Ratings agency Fitch has lowered its rating on Rio Tinto while rating agency Moody's has said it may lower its A3 senior unsecured rating on Rio Tinto as the company generates lower cash and battles high debt levels after its $38.1 billion purchase of Canadian-based aluminium producer Alcan last year.

Lu said Chinalco might consider seeking as much as 49.99 percent of Rio, but that was an idea that had been suggested by investment bankers and was not the company's policy.

Later, Chinalco issued a statement to clarify its stance.

"Chinalco has not made any decision in respect of its investment options in Rio Tinto, including the possibility of increasing its holding above 15.00 percent," it said.

Rio shares last traded up 9 percent at A$46.71 in a broader market up 3 percent. Rio shares had stood at over A$155 in May.

($1=A$1.52)

(Editing Lincoln Feast) Keywords: ALCOA/ (miranda.maxwell@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: miranda.maxwell.reuters.com @reuters.net; +61-3 9286-1464)

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This company report provides a breadth of information on the company and its relevant industry in the US - Primary Aluminum Production industry, represented by the 6-digit NAICS code 331312. The report first presents the company data, and then presents industry data in a similar, logical flow for the reader to draw relevant comparisons. The complete understanding of the company and its industry allow for better forecasting of specific and industry-wide trends in times of economic uncertainty. This detailed information resource contains at least 5 years of independently researched industry statistics cross-referenced with the relevant U.S. and international economic indicators. All data have been verified to ensure the highest quality.

In this report, you will find company and industry data on the following major categories:

Executive Summary

-- High level summary of the company and the relevant industry

-- Revenue numbers for the past 3 years

Company Overview

-- The company's operations, businesses, and products

-- Employees, officers, locations (when relevant)

Company Financial Summary

-- Yearly income statement, sales by segment, balance sheet, cash flow statement

-- Financial ratios - calculations and detailed explanations

-- Executive compensation summary

Company Patents and Technology

-- US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) patent holdings and applications

-- Patent classification listing for analyzing research and development trends

U.S. Industry and Comparison

-- Industry financials from income statement to balance sheet

-- Income statement benchmarks - Company against Industry

Industry Information

-- Product market sizes - percentage of sales of each product category within the industry

-- Pricing Distribution among Downstream Industries differentiated at producer, wholesale, retail, and freight categories

-- Industry Concentration: HHI, number of companies, size distributions, top level market shares

-- Major Players: company profiles and market size ranges

-- Cost analysis: Materials and their percentage share of total material costs

-- Upstream Industries and the cost allocations towards producer, wholesale, retail, and freight

-- Labor and Compensation Structure: productivity indices, hourly wages, production hours, output index, HR structure

-- Establishments: Trends, Employee Statistics, State by State numbers

Relevant References

-- Complete list of the company's subsidiaries

-- Industry trade associations and publications

-- Industry 4-year financial statement

Company Revenue Preview

Alcoa, Inc. generated $30,748M, $30,379M, and $25,568M worth of revenue in the fiscal years ending approximately December 31, 2007, 2006, and 2005. In those respective years, the company's gross profit margins were 21.1%, 23.2%, and 19.0%.

Excel Datasheet

The data presented in the report is also included in an Excel file for further analysis and data manipulation. It includes all of the company's financial data presented in the report (income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, segment data, financial ratios), executive compensation, subsidiary listing, USPTO patent activities (dates, application numbers, abstracts), and links to SEC filings. This valuable resource provides the freedom and convenience to conduct further research into the company at your will, be it data-mining or integration into forecast models.

This 91-page research report provides an unparalleled breadth and diversity of information on Alcoa, Inc. and its relevant industry. The two-part presentation of data, company and industry, paints the most complete picture of the company and its business. The summary of the company's operations and structure, backed up by crucial financial numbers, allows one to quickly understand the company. And the inclusion of hard-to-find data such as sales by segment, patent activities, subsidiary listings, and executive compensation further enhance this research.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/17c54a/alcoa_inc_and_th

CONTACT: Laura Wood, Senior Manager, Research and Markets Fax: +1 646 607 1907 (US) Fax: +353 1 481 1716 (Rest of World) e-mail: press@researchandmarkets.com

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Recognizing superior innovation, technological advancement and business performance, the Automotive News PACE Award is open to suppliers that contribute products, processes, materials or services directly to the manufacture of cars or trucks. The award is accepted around the world as the industry symbol of innovation.

Alcoa Transportation Products is a finalist in the Product-Europe category, which includes innovations in new products or services or in new product and service development and introduction processes that have significant market impact and act as "game changers" in the automotive industry.

The Automotive News PACE Award also recognizes suppliers' superiority in three additional categories: Product, Information Technology and Services and Manufacturing Process and Capital Equipment.

Alcoa Transportation Products, along with other Automotive News PACE Award finalists, will undergo an extensive review process - including a site visit - by industry, academic and business leaders to select award winners, to be announced in Detroit, Michigan on April 20, 2009.

For complete details of the 2009 Automotive News PACE Award visit www.autonews.com/PACE.

About Alcoa Wheel and Transportation Products

Alcoa Wheel and Transportation Products, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, serves the commercial vehicle, automotive, and defense markets with products used in a range of applications including cast and forged aluminum wheels, aluminum space frames, specialized vacuum die cast products, niche products such as Dura-Bright(R) and Dura-Flange(R) wheels and M-Series(TM) medium truck wheels, as well as a variety of other aluminum components for these markets. AWTP is composed of three divisions: Transportation Products, Commercial Vehicle Wheels, and Automotive Wheels. It employs 2,800 people at 30 locations worldwide.

About Alcoa

Alcoa (NYSE: AA) is the world leader in the production and management of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina combined through its active and growing participation in all major aspects of the industry. Alcoa serves the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation and industrial markets, bringing design, engineering, production and other capabilities of Alcoa's businesses to customers. In addition to aluminum products and components including flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, Alcoa also markets Alcoa(R) wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, structures and building systems. The Company has 97,000 employees in 34 countries and has been named one of the top most sustainable corporations in the world at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com.

SOURCE: Alcoa

Alcoa 
Brian E. Thomas, 216-641-4643 
Marketing Communications Specialist 
brian.thomas@alcoa.com

On the Nasdaq, Century Aluminum's stock fell 20 percent to $6.92, and Kaiser Aluminum was down almost 7 percent at $21.

In a research note, JPMorgan downgraded Century Aluminum to "neutral" from "overweight" and said it expected Alcoa to post a loss of 5 cents per share for the fourth quarter, compared with its earlier estimate of a profit of 8 cents.

Analysts on average expect Alcoa to earn 10 cents per share in the quarter, according to Reuters Estimates.

Last month, Alcoa said it was halting major capital projects in the face of uncertain markets, after it posted a lower-than-expected third-quarter profit.

During the third quarter, the price of aluminum dropped 28 percent from $3,375 per tonne on July 1 to $2,415 on Sept 30. On Wednesday, the metal hit a three-year low in London of $1,882.

(Reporting by Steve James; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) Keywords: ALUMINUM/SHARES

(steve.james@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646-223-6013; Reuters Messaging: steve.james.reuters.com@reuters.net)

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Copyright Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

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