Vale: 6.71% and a DividendThin moat
Mitsui & Co. (8031) — moat facet
Mitsui's Brazilian iron ore exposure is a dividend it does not control.
Mitsui participated in MBR in Brazil in February 1971, a business that through later restructuring became part of the current Vale1. It now owns 6.71% of Vale and books it as an investment, receiving a dividend rather than a share of profit: ¥59.6 billion in the year to March 2024, ¥35.0 billion in 2025 and ¥43.5 billion in 20262. Its share of Vale's production is counted at 22.5 million tonnes3.
A dividend is a thinner claim than an operated stake or even an equity-method investment. Mitsui has no say over how Vale spends its money and receives whatever the board of a large Brazilian company decides to pay. In return it has exposure to Brazilian iron ore, with a different set of mines, costs and customers from its Australian stakes.
The Vale dividend is excluded from the company's published iron ore sensitivity4, which means that the ¥3.0 billion per dollar understates the total exposure.
The stake's value on Mitsui's balance sheet moves with Vale's share price, and its income with Vale's board. That makes it closer to a listed investment than an operating interest. The company counts its share of Vale's ore in its equity production, 22.5 million tonnes5, but receives no ore from it, only cash.
The measure is the Vale dividend. At ¥43.5 billion it has recovered from ¥35.0 billion but remains below the ¥59.6 billion of two years earlier.
The dividend recovered in the latest year but remains below its level of two years earlier.
A payout decided in Brazil; its size tracks Vale's own profits and policy.
Source: Mitsui & Co. Integrated Report 2026, data ↗- ReportedMitsui participated in MBR in Brazil in February 1971, a business that through later restructuring became part of the current Vale.Mitsui & Co., Annual Securities Report for the year to March 2026 (English) - company history, employees, share price history, total shareholder return, equity production, the revenue of the Singapore trading subsidiary, competition and the Arctic LNG 2 guarantees. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 12 August 2026 · source ↗
- ReportedIt now owns 6.71% of Vale and books it as an investment, receiving a dividend rather than a share of profit: ¥59.6 billion in the year to March 2024, ¥35.0 billion in 2025 and ¥43.5 billion in 2026.Mitsui & Co. Integrated Report 2026, data section - the major affiliates by segment with ownership and share of profit. — FY to March 2022-2026 · publ. 2026 · source ↗
- ReportedIts share of Vale's production is counted at 22.5 million tonnes.Mitsui & Co., Annual Securities Report for the year to March 2026 (English) - company history, employees, share price history, total shareholder return, equity production, the revenue of the Singapore trading subsidiary, competition and the Arctic LNG 2 guarantees. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 12 August 2026 · source ↗
- ReportedThe Vale dividend is excluded from the company's published iron ore sensitivity, which means that the ¥3.0 billion per dollar understates the total exposure.Mitsui & Co., Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2026 (IFRS) - the JA Mitsui Leasing and Mainstream losses, the Russian LNG exposure, the Strait of Hormuz and the sensitivities. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
- ReportedThe company counts its share of Vale's ore in its equity production, 22.5 million tonnes, but receives no ore from it, only cash.Mitsui & Co., Annual Securities Report for the year to March 2026 (English) - company history, employees, share price history, total shareholder return, equity production, the revenue of the Singapore trading subsidiary, competition and the Arctic LNG 2 guarantees. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 12 August 2026 · source ↗