Rome. Italy has taken steps to block a Chinese state-owned company from taking control of tire maker Pirelli. The media gave this information. The decision is part of a series of measures announced by the Italian government to protect Pirelli’s independence, the BBC reports. Beijing-controlled chemical giant Sinochem is Pirelli’s largest shareholder, with a 37 percent stake in the 151-year-old Milan-based firm.
This tension between Beijing and the West has come to the fore in the light of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s ongoing visit to China.
The Italian government had ruled that only Camfin – a company controlled by Pirelli boss Marco Tronchetti Provera – could nominate candidates for its chief executive officer, Pirelli said in a statement to investors, the BBC reported.
Pirelli also said that the government has decided that any change in the company’s corporate governance should be subject to official scrutiny.
It came after Sinochem told the Italian government in March that it planned to renew and update the existing shareholder agreement.
The BBC reported that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s administration investigated the deal under so-called Golden Power Procedure rules, aimed at protecting businesses that are considered strategically important.
–IANS
read this also – Click to read the news of your state / city before the newspaper