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Geely halts trading in wake of Volvo comments

AFP/The Local
AFP/The Local - [email protected]
Geely halts trading in wake of Volvo comments

Chinese automaker Geely suspended trading of its Hong Kong-listed shares on Tuesday to clarify statements it made about Volvo Cars the previous day.

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Lawrence Ang, an executive director of the listed company, said on Monday that it would be interested in the Chinese operations of Volvo, if its parent is successful in acquiring the troubled carmaker, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

"The listed company is not involved in the Volvo deal. But our parent's acquisition of Volvo should help the company (because of similarities between their businesses)," he reportedly said after the company's shareholder meeting.

Geely Automobile Holdings said in a statement filed to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday that trading in its shares had been suspended around 0200 GMT, adding that the announcement would be "price sensitive" in nature.

It gave no further details.

"The company suspended the trading because it will make an announcement later to clarify the statements it had made to the media yesterday," a company spokeswoman told AFP.

Ang also said Geely is on the lookout for potential acquisitions, especially makers of car engines, according to Dow Jones.

The company's shares bucked the Hong Kong stock index Monday and ended 6.1 percent higher at 4.33 Hong Kong dollars ($0.55) following Ang's comments.

Reports said 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.

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