Pirelli puts brakes on US investment plan over Chinese shareholder

Pirelli has put on hold plans to invest further in the US as it tries to smooth out tensions linked to having Chinese state-owned group Sinochem as its largest investor, the Italian tyre maker said on Friday.

Sinochem has a 37% stake in Pirelli and is at odds with the company and its Italian shareholders over governance, at a time when being seen as a Chinese-linked business is increasingly proving an obstacle for doing business in the US, one of Pirelli’s key markets.

Pirelli makes about 25% of its revenues in North America, which it mostly serves through its plants in Mexico, South America and Europe, though it also runs a smaller facility in the US state of Georgia.

Reuters