THE locally listed Lei Shing Hong Ltd group appears to have stolen a march on the Jardine International Motors group in expanding the penetration of Mercedes-Benz vehicles into China.
Lei Shing Hong's new subsidiary company, Eastern Star Automobile Ltd, has entered into a Regional Distribution Agreement with Mercedes-Benz China Ltd to cover six eastern provinces of the country.
Mercedes-Benz China is a wholly owned subsidiary of the giant Daimler-Benz AG group of Germany and manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz cars.
Under the terms of the agreement, Mercedes-Benz AG has also been granted an option to take up 25.1 per cent of the share capital of Eastern Star Automobile.
The option is exercisable any time in the seven years from October 1, 1998, and the cost of the interest will then be based on the net assets of Eastern Star at the time of being exercised.
Jardine International Motors, the listed motor distribution subsidiary of the Jardine Matheson group, is the sole distributor of Mercedes-Benz cars, trucks and buses in Hong Kong.
Through its 49 per cent-owned associate company, Southern Star Motor Co, it is also a dealer in Mercedes-Benz cars in southern China.