Doublestar Blames Conti for JV Collapse

A proposed Chinese joint venture between Qingdao Doublestar and Continental AG fell apart because of a dispute over who would take the majority stake in the partnership, according to a Bloomberg report. The Chinese company has since said it is in talks with other overseas companies for a venture in which it wants a majority stake, the Chinese company said in a Shenzhen exchange statement today. The statement did not name the prospective partners.

Continental, based in Hanover, Germany, said in September that it would spend “far more”’ than 50 million euros ($66 million) on a venture. The company is the only one of the top 10 global tyre manufacturers that doesn’t have a manufacturing venture in China, according to the Securities Times.

Passenger car sales grew 15 per cent in China last year. In total, China sold 239 million tyres last year, up 19 per cent from 2003. Sales by value rose 38 per cent to 79 billion yuan ($9.5 billion), the Shanghai Daily reported today.