The "perception of resource scarcity" seems to be the reason behind some recent political conflict in the Asian-Pacific region.
"Japan’s seizure of a Chinese fishing boat in September said less about the boat’s ramming of two Japanese coast guard vessels than about the rich fishing grounds and possible undersea oil fields that surround the disputed island territory nearby. Similarly, mineral deposits near a disputed craggy outcropping held by China in the South China Sea lay behind its capture of nine Vietnamese fishermen the following week. And competition for a mineral essential to agriculture spurred the decision of BHP Billiton, Australia’s largest miner, to change its friendly offer to buy Canada’s Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan to a hostile takeover attempt in mid-August."
Asian-Pacific Financial Forecast, Nov. 2010
The "resources" story is also playing out in other ways. AFF also notes that the Indian government recently privatized Coal India (the world's largest coal producer), while Malaysia similarly decided to turn state-run Petronas Chemicals into a public company.
Then there's the much-reported issue of China limiting its rare-earths exports, which include Lithium, Gallium, and Indium. In fact, there are at least seventeen of these elements. These resources are particularly important because they are necessary to the production of batteries, mobile phones, flat-screen televisions, solar cells, oil refining and even missiles. China produces most of the world's supply:
"China has about 30 percent of global rare earths deposits but accounts for about 97 percent of production. The United States, Canada and Australia have rare earths but stopped mining them in the 1990s as lower-cost Chinese supplies became available...China's government says it needs to limit rare earths production to conserve supplies and reduce environmental damage from mining." Associated Press, Nov. 17
Even so, a European Union envoy in Beijing is urging the Chinese to reconsider their rare-earths exports restrictions. China's 2010 rare-earths exports are already down considerably compared to 2009; prices have skyrocketed:
"Rare-earth prices have surged as much as sevenfold after China in July reduced its second-half export quota by 72 percent to ensure domestic supply of the minerals, used by companies including Toyota Motor Corp..."
Bloomberg, Nov. 15
In the meantime: you can see revealing charts of rare-earths companies in the latest Asian-Pacific Financial Forecast. This issue also covers China's Shenzhen Mining Index and Australia's Materials index. Our analyst presents his forecast for both.