Hardly in business, already on a visit: Daimler’s new major shareholder, Chinese businessman Li Shufu, is already inspecting the Group headquarters in Stuttgart today.
picture alliance / Wiktor Dabkov
New Daimler major shareholder Li Shufu
Sunday, 25.02.2018
12:26
The new major Daimler shareholder Li Shufu is, according to information from “Bild am Sonntag” on Sunday and on Monday to visit the car manufacturer in Stuttgart. At Daimler’s headquarters, Li will talk to several leading executives, including chief financial officer Bodo Uebber, the newspaper reported. On Tuesday talks are planned in the Chancellery in Berlin.
On Saturday it became known that the boss of the Chinese automaker Geely at the free 9.69 percent of Daimler shares had been acquired through targeted purchases, Li became the largest single shareholder in the group. He had stressed in a statement on Saturday,“Accompanying Daimler on the way to becoming one of the world’s leading providers of electromobility”.
Charm offensive from China
The visit of the Chinese billionaire in Germany is a “charm offensive,” wrote the “BamS”, as the reservations against Chinese investors in this country are great. In the Chancellery, Li will meet with the economic adviser of German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), Lars-Hendrick Röller. When visiting Stuttgart, a conversation with Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche is possible on Monday.
Already at the beginning of February it had become known that there had been a conversation between Li and Zetsche about getting started. Allegedly, Li asked for special conditions in the form of discounts, Daimler had refused. Nevertheless, Daimler welcomed the entry on Saturday: Li was a “long-term investor”.