Italy opens procedure against China's Sinochem for possible breach of Pirelli governance: CACCIARE LA CINA E TRONCHETTI-PROVERA DALL.ITALIA

Italy opens procedure against China's Sinochem for possible breach of Pirelli governance

Written by The Associated Press

November 7, 2024

FILE -Pirelli president Marco Tronchetti Provera is silhouetted as he passes in front of the company's logo to leave at the end of a meeting in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, April 17, 2007. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno), File)

MILAN (AP) — Italy has opened an administrative procedure against China’s Sinochem, the largest shareholder in Italian tiremaker Pirelli, for a possible breach of restrictions designed to protect national strategic assets.

Pirelli announced Wednesday that the procedure was launched under the so-called “golden power” provisions, which include restrictions to the access of some information and higher vote thresholds for strategic decisions, invoked by the Rome government in mid-2023.

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Pirelli said Sinochem, which controls a 37% stake in the company, has denied any violations of the restrictions, adding the Italian government had 120 days to issue a finding.

In announcing the golden power provision, the government cited the sensitivity of sensors implanted in tires that can collect data such as road layouts, geolocation and the state of infrastructure, making it of a "critical technology of national strategic importance.”

The tiremaker’s second-largest investor is Camfin, the investment vehicle of Pirelli’s former CEO and current executive vice-chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera, which holds a 32.4% stake.