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Chinese group in talks to buy Pirelli stake: report

Pirelli, the Italian tyre maker famed for its Formula One wheels and racy calendars, could soon be partly owned by a Chinese investor, Italian media reported on Friday.

Published: 20 March 2015 13:22 CET

Chinese group in talks to buy Pirelli stake: report

Pirelli began business in Milan in 1872 by making bicycle wheels. Pirelli photo: Shutterstock

Camfin, which is Pirelli's main shareholder with about a quarter of the company's shares, confirmed that it is "in negotiations with an industrial partner".

Although Camfin did not name the interested party, Corriere della Sera reported on Friday that the partner in talks is China Chemical Corporation (ChemChina), a state-own giant that generates about €70 billion in annual revenues.

The Chinese group was not immediately available for comment on the report.

Pirelli began business in Milan in 1872 by making bicycle wheels before moving into the nascent automobile industry.

Now a mainstay of the F1 circuit, Pirelli is equally well known for its racy calendars that have featured stars including Sophia Loren, Brigitte Bardot and Penelope Cruz.

The Pirelli calendar is never sold but is distributed each year by the tyre firm to thousands of VIPs, top customers, politicians and other personalities.

The group recorded revenues of €6 billion in 2014, down 0.7 percent from 2013, while operational profit rose 6.8 percent to €838 million.

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China derides Copenhagen democracy meet as 'political farce'

Demonstrators gathered outside the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday. Photo: Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix

The Copenhagen Democracy Summit was held Monday and Tuesday in the Danish capital and organised by the Alliance of Democracies, an organisation targeted by Beijing sanctions in March and founded by former NATO boss Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

In addition to Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law, Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod also participated in the forum by video link, which Beijing said violated “the one-China principle.”

“This summit is a political farce,” the Chinese embassy in Denmark wrote in a statement published on Tuesday. “Inviting those who advocate Taiwan and Hong Kong ‘independence’ to the meeting violates the one-China principle and interferes in China’s internal affairs,” it said.

“Some hypocritical western politicians are good at meddling in other countries’ internal affairs and creating divisions and confrontation in the name of ‘democracy’ and ‘freedom’. They are bound to fail,” it added.

At the conference on Monday, Kofod said it was “deplorable” that Beijing had imposed sanctions on 10 European individuals and organisations in response to EU sanctions on Xinjiang officials over their actions against the Uyghur Muslim minority.

Like most countries, Denmark applies the one-China principle — under which Beijing bars other countries from having simultaneous diplomatic relations with Taipei — though it does maintain relations with Taiwan.

Cut off politically from the rest of China since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the territory is self-governing but is not recognised by
the United Nations.

Beijing considers Taiwan a rebel province that will one day return under its control, by force if necessary.

China’s sabre-rattling has increased considerably over the past year, with fighter jets and nuclear-capable bombers breaching Taiwan’s air defence zone on a near-daily basis.

“Our government is fully aware of the threats to regional security, and is actively enhancing our national defence capabilities to protect our
democracy,” Tsai told the conference in a video address on Monday. US President Joe Biden is expected to present his China strategy soon, as
calls mount for him to publicly commit to defending Taiwan militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.

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