German car giant Volkswagen announced yesterday that it would buy a 19.9 percent stake in Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp by next month, with Suzuki also acquiring a stake in Europe’s biggest carmaker.
No financial details were released but a statement said Suzuki “intends to invest up to one half of the amount received from Volkswagen into shares of Volkswagen.”
The two groups said they had “reached a common understanding to establish a close long-term strategic partnership” and a joint press conference was scheduled later yesterday in Tokyo.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
The alliance could create a broad sales network in Asia since Volkswagen already has a strong presence in China, while Suzuki is a big player in India, the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun noted.
“In terms of product portfolio, global distribution and manufacturing capacities, Volkswagen and Suzuki ideally complement each other,” the statement said.
Volkswagen has just bought 49.9 percent of the German luxury sports car maker Porsche and will acquire all of the company by 2011, making Porsche its 10th brand.
The head of Volkswagen’s supervisory board, Ferdinand Piech, has said he sees Volkswagen eventually owning 12 brands.
Commenting on the alliance with Suzuki however, the statement said “both companies will establish a cooperative relationship while respecting each other’s independence as a stand-alone entity.”
“The companies plan a joint approach to the growing worldwide demand for more environmentally friendly vehicles,” it said.
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
The US House of Representatives yesterday unanimously passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, which aims to disincentivize Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by cutting Chinese leaders and their family members off from the US financial system if Beijing acts against Taiwan. The bipartisan bill, which would also publish the assets of top Chinese leaders, was cosponsored by Republican US Representative French Hill, Democratic US Representative Brad Sherman and seven others. If the US president determines that a threat against Taiwan exists, the bill would require the US Department of the Treasury to report to Congress on funds held by certain members of the