Brilliance China: To Up Stake In BMW JV To 44.55%

Tuesday 3:31 am ET

HONG KONG April 29, 2003; Loretta Ng writing for Dow Jones reported that Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd. confirmed Tuesday it will lift its stake in its planned joint venture with Germany's Bayerische Motoren Werke AG to 44.55% from 40.5% at present at a cost of 135 million yuan ($1=CNY8.28).

The Shenyang city government will sell the stake, reducing its effective stake in the car-making venture to 5.45% from the originally planned 9.5%.

Because the Shenyang city government is a connected party to Brilliance China, the minivan-maker will ask independent shareholders to approve the purchase. Shenyang is the capital of Liaoning province, which is Brilliance China's controlling shareholder.

The joint venture will have registered capital of EUR150 million and a total investment of EUR450 million. It has a planned annual production capacity of 30, 000 vehicles, and is set to launch the latest BMW 3-series and 5-series models in China in the second half of 2003.

BMW holds the remaining 50% of the venture.