BEIJING -(Dow Jones)- The chairman of Cofco Ltd., China's primary grain trader, on Tuesday ruled the company out of the acquisition race for Canada's Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT). "Right now, we have no interest (in Potash Corp.)," Ning Gaoning told Dow Jones Newswires. Cofco isn't a stranger to sizeable overseas acquisitions, having bought a stake in Smithfield Foods (SFD), the world's largest pork processor, in 2008. Speculation is mounting on the identity of Chinese businesses circling Potash, the world's largest producer of fertilizer, which is fending off a $38.6 billion bid from Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP). The Wall Street Journal Monday reported Chinese private-equity fund Hopu Investment Management Co. is leading a consortium considering a possible bid for Potash. -By Chuin-Wei Yap, Dow Jones Newswires; 8610 8400 7704; chuin-wei.yap@dowjones.com.
