BHP Billiton investors to vote on spin-off in May

Shareholders in BHP Billiton will get to vote on the mining giant's plan to hive off less profitable businesses next spring, it said on Thursday.

The company's executives told investors at its annual meeting in Australia that it would hold a shareholder vote in May on proposals to spin off its aluminium, coal, manganese and silver assets into a separate company expected to be worth about $16bn.

BHP said it had secured approval for the deal from Australia's taxman and its Foreign Investment Review Board and was confident of getting remaining regulatory consents. It plans to unveil other details including the name of the new company in March.

The move comes as global miners have embarked on cost-cutting and disposals of non-core businesses to counter the impact on commodity demand of an economic slowdown in China.

Shares in BHP fell 49.5p or 3% to 1575.5p at 13:53 in London.