Volvo suitor Geely resumes trading

Chinese automaker Geely resumed trading of its Hong Kong-listed shares on Tuesday afternoon following confirmation of strong sales figures announced on Monday.

• Geely halts trading in wake of Volvo comments (8 Dec 09)
• Jakob group 'ready to bid' for Volvo Cars (7 Dec 09)
• Crown rolls out new bid for Volvo Cars (3 Dec 09)

Geely Automobile Holdings, which suspended trading in its shares on Tuesday morning, said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that statements made by its executive director Lawrence Ang to the media after a shareholders' meeting on Monday are "accurate."

Ang told media on Monday that the company had set a sales target of 400,000 vehicles for 2010, representing a year-on-year growth of about 33 percent.

The group had sold around 250,000 vehicles in the first 10 months of this year, meeting its sales target, he said.

He also said that the listed company would be interested in the Chinese operations of Volvo, if its parent company is successful in acquiring the troubled carmaker, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report.

Ang added that his company is on the lookout for potential acquisitions, especially makers of car engines, the report said.

The company's confirmation of strong car sales on Tuesday sent its share price up six percent to 4.59 Hong Kong dollars ($0.59 US) shortly after it resumed trading at 0630 GMT.

Reports said US auto giant Ford picked Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Geely Automobile's unlisted parent, in October as its preferred bidder for money-losing Volvo, which is based in Sweden.

Geely said last month it had reached an agreement with Ford to buy the intellectual property rights to Volvo's key technologies, including those related to safety and the environment, the reports said.