Exclusive | Geely pulls out of buying Malaysia’s Proton, as its profits surge by 126 per cent
Geely president An Conghui confirms Chinese firm is walking away from Malaysian takeover, as it reveals best financials in nine years
China’s Geely Automobile Holdings has withdrawn its bid to acquire a controlling stake in Malaysian automaker Proton, Geely’s president, An Conghui has told the South China Morning Post.
Geely, the owner of the Swedish Volvo brand, earlier on Wednesday reported better-than-expected earnings for 2016, as net profit surged by 126 per cent to 5.1 billion yuan (US$739 million).
It had been considered the favourite to acquire a controlling stake in Proton, Malaysia’s largest carmaker which also owns the Lotus sports car marque, though Europe’s second-largest carmaker Groupe PSA, which owns the Citroen, Peugeot, and DS brands, was also in the running.
Geely’s revenue jumped 78 per cent to 53.7 billion yuan as the group sold 765,970 vehicles in 2016, up 50.2 per cent from the previous year. Of these, 744,191 units were sold domestically, up 53.6 per cent from 2015, according to the company’s filing to Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing.
An did not elaborate on the reasons for the Proton decision, but Li Shufu, its chairman, had previously indicated the Malaysian firm had been uncertain about what it wanted from an overseas partner, in an interview with Bloomberg earlier this month.
