Baosteel calls talk of BHP stake interest "rumor"

NINGBO, China (Reuters) - The chairman of Baosteel Group, China's top steelmaker, said on Thursday talk that his company wanted to buy an equity stake in BHP Billiton Ltd/Plc (BHP.AX) (BLT.L) was a "market rumor".

Asked on Thursday about media reports that Baosteel was seeking to buy into BHP, Xu Lejiang told reporters: "That's a market rumor."

The Australian newspaper earlier this month reported that Chinese interests had asked a big Australian pension and investment fund to be a partner in a multibillion-dollar deal for 9 percent of BHP's shares, amid speculation that a state-controlled Chinese firm was building a stake in the world's biggest mining company.

(Reporting by Fang Yan; Writing by Edmund Klamann; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)