China’s Geely trims stake in Volvo, affirms long-term investment plan

VOLVO’S second-largest shareholder Geely confirmed it lowered its stake in the company by redeeming bondholders with the truckmaker’s shares over the past months.

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group handed over more than seven billion Swedish kronor (S$911 million) worth of stock, reducing its stake in Volvo from 8.2 to 6.8 per cent. The company controlled by Chinese billionaire Li Shufu said its voting strength remains largely unchanged.

“As we communicated earlier last year, this change in our ownership of B-shares pertains to the bond programme that we now have concluded,” Geely spokesperson Stefan Lundin said on Wednesday (Jan 10), adding that the move means “no change” to Geely’s strategic long-term investment in Volvo.

Geely last year offloaded its 6.3 per cent stake in Volvo competitor Daimler Truck Holding, equivalent to roughly 1.5 billion euros (S$2.2 billion).

The sale triggered speculation Geely might seek to step up its influence at Volvo after eliminating the conflict of interest of owning shares in the world’s two largest truck manufacturers.

Geely had previously flagged it might reduce its holding in the Swedish truckmaker because of the repayment of bonds. The Chinese company owns a web of automotive interests in Europe and divested a US$350 million stake in EV-maker Volvo Car in November. BLOOMBERG