FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daimler AG (DE:DAIGn) on Thursday signalled it was open to welcoming new long-term shareholders from China, responding to a Chinese media report that Chinese automaker BAIC Motor was interested in taking a stake.
Upon being asked about the report, which said Beijing Automotive was in talks to buy a major stake in Daimler, the German auto maker said it was happy with its current shareholder structure but said it was always pleased about interest from potential long-term investors.
"BAIC is our most important partner in China," Daimler said. "Generally speaking we want to remain attractive for long term investors. Investors from China are also welcome."
Shares in Daimler rose 3.4 percent to 72.55 euros by 0741 GMT, outperforming a 2.9 percent rise in the DAX (GDAXI).
There are already substantial ties between Daimler and BAIC: Daimler owns a 10 percent stake in BAIC Motor (HK:1958), the Hong-Kong listed passenger car unit of state-owned Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC).
And in December 2013, BAIC took a 51 percent stake in a China-based manufacturing joint venture with Daimler, while the German automaker took a 51 percent stake in a China-based sales joint venture.
Daimler's largest shareholders in China are currently Renault-Nissan (PA:RENA) (T:7201) with a stake of 3.1 percent and Kuwait, which has 6.8 percent.