BAIC raising stake at Daimler to surpass Geely

KUALA LUMPUR: BAIC groups, currently Daimler’s third-largest shareholder has set in motion their plans of increasing stakes at Diamlers to overthrow Geely as the top stakeholder, suggest reports.

The Chinese State-owned Beijing Automobile Group Co Ltd (BAIC), which owns a stake of 5 per cent shareholding in Daimler has started buying the company's shares from the open market. Currently, it’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group that holds the largest stake of 9.69 per cent. A shareholding of 10 per cent will not only make BAIC the largest shareholder but can also secure a seat in the Daimler’s supervisory board.

Moreover, the partnership between Daimler and BAIC plans to revamp manufacturing facilities to make Mercedes Benz-branded trucks via their commercial vehicle joint venture, Foton Daimler Automotive (BFDA). Currently, BAIC has been Daimler's main partner in China for years and operates the Mercedes-Benz factories in Beijing.

However, Diamler did not agree to receive any notification about BAIC increasing their stakes in the company. As per the sources, the Chinese State-owned company had signalled its intentions to extend their investment in Daimler to overthrow the leading competitor, Geely Holding Group.

Earlier this year, BAIC was announced as the third-largest shareholder after seeking help from HSBC in holding their current stakes at 5 per cent.

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