HONG KONG: Daimler has asked Goldman Sachs to help it explore increasing its stake in Chinese carmaker BAIC Motor Corp, its main China joint venture partner, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
Caps on foreign ownership previously prevented overseas carmakers from controlling any Chinese maker or joint venture with foreign peers. Last year those limits were removed for firms making fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, which will be followed in 2020 by the removal of limits on makers of commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses.
Daimler's discussions with BAIC are at an early stage and its plan to increase the stake in BAIC's Hong Kong-listed entity has not been finalised and could change later, cautioned the people, who declined to be identified as the information is confidential.Daimler holds 30.4 percent of BAIC's Hong Kong-listed shares, representing a 9.55 percent overall stake in its Chinese partner, according to BAIC's June 2018 interim report.
It is not clear whether Daimler would seek a majority stake in BAIC, which has a current market capitalisation of US$4.9 billion.