Noble's sugar daddy is the perfect Valentine's match

Sydney

TUESDAY was Valentine's Day, so it came as no surprise that even the ugliest ducklings in the corporate world were hoping to find love. Noble Group Ltd, whose shares were down 93 per cent from their 2011 peak as of Monday, is in talks over a strategic investment, the Hong Kong-based commodity trader said on Tuesday. The potential suitor is Chinese chemicals giant Sinochem Group, people familiar with the talks earlier told Javier Blas of Bloomberg News.

It's no compliment to say that the two businesses appear to be made for each other. Noble and state-owned Sinochem, along with its listed subsidiary Sinochem International Corp, operate on gossamer-thin margins on a good day - and lately, there haven't been many good days.