Sinochem Poses Most Likely Threat To BHP's Potash Bid

China's Sinochem International, that country's largest chemicals trader, appears to be the most likely threat to BHP Billiton's BHP $38.6 billion hostile takeover bid for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan POT, according to Bloomberg News, which cited three people close with the talks. Chinese authorities have selected Sinochem as the country's preferred bidder for Potash, the world's largest fertilizer maker. Sinochem would prefer to involve Canadian pension funds or other Canadian investors to create more support for an offer, according to Bloomberg. Speculation has been increasing in recent weeks that Sinochem would emerge as a bidder for Potash as China, one of the world's top purchasers of crop nutrients, moves to block BHP's bid. While Potash hasn't given Sinochem a timeline in which to get a deal done, the Chinese company still has a few weeks to line up financing and partners, Bloomberg reported. Potash has continually rebuffed BHP's $130-a-share offer, calling it inadequate.