Daimler and BAIC: The Chinese want more shares

D er Chinese Daimler partner BAIC wants to increase its stake in the German automaker, reports the Reuters news agency with reference to Insider. The Chinese are aiming to double their shares to around ten percent. The aim is to outperform Geely as the largest single shareholder. BAIC also wants a seat on the Daimler Supervisory Board.

It was only on Friday (November 22, 2019) that Daimler announced in a mandatory notification that Bank HSBC directly and indirectly controls around 5.2 percent of the voting rights. BAIC had already used the financial institution in the past to build up its original stake in Daimler. The Chinese carmaker acquired five percent of Daimler in July. BAIC responded to Geely joining Daimler. Geely holds almost ten percent of the Stuttgart-based company and took Daimler by surprise with the entry.

China is an important market for Daimler

A Daimler spokesman explains that the Chinese market is a crucial component of success for Daimler, both in sales and in product development and production. Daimler and Beijing Automotive (BAIC) have a long-term strategic partnership. BAIC has not yet issued a statement.

More than one billion Daimler shares are in circulation worldwide. The largest shareholders include the Kuwait sovereign wealth fund with 6.8% (since 1974), Renault-Nissan (3.1% with a cross-shareholding since 2010) and the Chinese investor Li Shufu (Geely). He holds the largest share (9.7%) in Daimler through Tenaciou3 Prospect Investment Limited (since 2018). In July 2019, the Chinese BAIC Group held 5% of the voting rights in Daimler. 21.5% of Daimler shares are in the hands of private, 53.9% with institutional investors.