With a spectacular coup Geely became a major shareholder of Daimler. But the Chinese automaker is said to have reported its involvement of the Financial Services Authority too late. A delicate punishment threatens.
Geely owner Li Shufu and Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche
Saturday, 12.05.2018
14:23 clock
Due to missed registration deadlines at the Daimler entry, the Chinese carmaker Geely must expect a million fine. As the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (FAZ) and the “Handelsblatt” Geely boss Li Shufu of the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bafin) would have had to report the upcoming participation earlier.
The “Handelsblatt” quoted a Bafin spokeswoman with the words: “Whether this could also be relevant under penalty law, we look at.” In the case of violations of the Securities Trading Act, financial supervisors can award fines in the millions.
Billionaire Li Shufu arrived at Daimler in February with 9.7 percent, He is the largest shareholder, even before the Emirate of Kuwait. For such an order of magnitude there is a duty of registration. According to reports, the corresponding message came on February 23, one day late.
Following the surprise start of the Geely Group at Daimler, the Federal Government had announced that it would review the reporting requirements in the Securities Trading Act. The CSU finance politician Hans Michelbach demanded in the “FAZ” to tighten the law in order to achieve more transparency already in the initiation of share purchases.
Geely holds shares in several automakers
Geely now holds several investments in the automotive sector. For example, Volvo Cars and the London EV Company, the taxi manufacturer, are wholly owned by the Chinese, with 8.2 per cent held by Volvo Trucks and 49.9 per cent by Proton. In 2016, Geely founded Lynk & Co, a Chinese brand for heavily networked vehicles that does not want to limit itself to the domestic market, but also plans to launch in Europe and the US.