Italy's curbs on Chinese investor allow Pirelli full access to US market, minister says
A person uses the phone near a Pirelli logo during the 150th anniversary celebration of Italian tyremaker in Milan, Italy, January 28, 2022. REUTERS/Flavio Lo Scalzo/File Photo
MILAN, April 15 : Curbs set by Italy's government to limit Chinese shareholder influence over Pirelli will allow the tyre maker to compete in the U.S. market, industry minister Adolfo Urso was quoted as saying on Wednesday by news agency ANSA.
Among terms set last week by Rome under golden power rules designed to protect the national interest in corporate matters, Pirelli's largest investor Sinochem is entitled to name only three representatives to the tyre maker's board.
Board members appointed by Sinochem will also not be allowed to hold top corporate roles such as chairman or CEO.
The government ruling came at the height of a governance spat, with Italian investors and Pirelli itself claiming that Sinochem's ownership position was jeopardising the group's potential to expand in the U.S., where authorities are implementing new rules to cut the use of Chinese technologies in the automotive sector.
"What is important for all Pirelli shareholders, for Pirelli employees and for the company is that they could maintain their initiative in the most promising market, that of the United States, and thus compete effectively with a cutting-edge technology in the global market," Urso said during an event in Rome.
Pirelli specialises in the premium segment of the market and, among its products, sells so-called cyber tyres, which incorporate sensors allowing for the collection of data whilst the vehicle is in motion.
The company declined to comment on Urso's remarks.
Earlier this week Chinese state-owned Sinochem said it might lodge a legal appeal against curbs set by Italy's government.
Sinochem, which produces and trades chemicals and fertilisers, is Pirelli's largest shareholder with a 34 per cent stake. Camfin, the vehicle of Italian businessman Marco Tronchetti Provera, holds around 26 per cent, with plans to increase it to 29.9 per cent.
