According to industry sources, Kumho Tires’ creditors will return the agreement on use of the Kumho brand name to Kumho Industrial this week ahead of a planned signing of a contract before the end of the month.
Nothing now stands in the way of Qingdao Doublestar Tire’s acquisition of a 42.01 per cent share in Kumho Tire. Last Friday, the creditors of Kumho Tire accepted the offer made by Kumho Asiana.
Qingdao Doublestar Tire’s bid to acquire 42.01 per cent of South Korean tyre maker Kumho Tire is developing into a drama of the sort not witnessed since a stubborn Cooper Chengshan Tire helped derail Apollo Tyres’ purchase of Cooper Tire & Rubber. Business Korea writes today that 41 Kumho Tire executives, including chief executive officer Lee Han-seob, intend to resign should Kumho Tire’s creditors sell the share to Doublestar.
Sales of imported tyres in Korea increased by more than 40 per cent in the January to April period when compared with 2016 figures, according to the Korea Tire Manufacturers Association (KOTMA).
If this pace continues, imported tyres will set a record high this year. According to KOTMA, this is largely due to Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors introducing imported tyres on their models, media said.
Use of the Kumho brand name was certainly a factor motivating Qingdao Doublestar Tire’s bid for a share in the Korean tyre maker. Although selected as the winning bidder, uncertainty now hangs over the terms under which the Chinese manufacturer can use the Kumho name, and this may suffice for Doublestar to walk away from the deal. Kumho Tire’s creditors are attempting to broker a compromise.
The Korean Ministry of Environment has announced that domestic and overseas tyre manufacturers will be obliged to indicate the noise level of their products from 2019. The policy announced in Korea on Monday follows the E.U. standards as well, the ministry said, and will be applied to tiyes on passenger vehicles starting in 2019, and […]
ChemChina is said to have expressed interest in Kumho Tire Co., according to Korean news source. Citing “industry sources” Pulse News said ChemChina “signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with creditors of Kumho Tire last month and began preparing for an official bid. The Chinese company selected Boston Consulting Group to advice on the deal.”
The creditors who hold a 42 per cent share in Kumho Tire are said to have begun the process of selling the tyre maker. Reuters reports a spokesperson for Korea Development Bank, the largest Kumho Tire shareholder, as giving November or thereabouts as the deadline for initial letters of interest, with main bids coming in or around January. Credit Suisse has been appointed to manage the deal.
The Korea Tire Manufacturers Association (KTMA) reports that the total value of tyres imported into Korea reached US$511.48 million (561.6 billion won) in 2015, up 63.8 per cent from $312.27 million in 2010. Tyre imports in the first half of 2016 (January to June) also increased, growing 6.2 per cent year-on-year to $250.84 million.
After more than a month of strike action, unionised workers at Kumho Tire’s three factories in South Korea are preparing to return to work. However this move doesn’t signal an end to the industrial action that is estimated to have already cost the tyre maker around 150 billion won (£82.1 million) – Yonhap News reports that the walkout has only been temporarily suspended pending the election of a new union leader.
Hankook could be the subject of the first strike action in its history after 86.3 per cent of its union members voted for industrial action, newspaper Korea Joongang Daily reports. The vote, with ballots cast by 4,430 out of 4,700 union members between 21 and 23 August, comes after management proposed an annual wage hike of 1 per cent.
Solid Auto UK has renewed its supply agreement with Groupauto, marking a 10 year partnership for the Japanese and Korean specialist and buying group. The agreement covers all product groups including filters, brake pads and discs, clutches, cooling, steering and suspension, engine components and electrical. Groupauto members will also have access to the company’s new ranges of ABS Sensors and EGR Valves.
Some 3,300 workers at Kumho Tire’s three South Korean factories went on strike yesterday to protest planned changes to the company’s wage structure. The eight-hour strike affected production at the Gwangju, Gokseong and Pyeongtaek plants and is said to have costed the tyre maker an estimated KRW 5.2 billion (£2.8 million) in lost sales.
South Korea’s tyre market has long been dominated by domestic manufacturers Hankook, Kumho and Nexen, but the country’s ‘big three’ are losing ground to imports at both the premium and budget ends of the market. According to information released by the Korea Tire Manufacturers Association yesterday, imports of tyres increased 9.9 per cent year-on-year in the first six months of 2015, and totalled 3.73 million units.
Kia Motors has announced that it expects to reach the 15 millionth cumulative export (from South Korea factories) milestone later this month. This landmark achievement comes 40 years after its very first export shipment of ten units of the Brisa pickup truck to Qatar in 1975.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.