The chief executive of Intesa
Sanpaolo, one of the investors in tire giant Pirelli, said
Wednesday that the sale of a majority stake in the Italian
company to a Chinese conglomerate will be good for Italy.
Carlo Messina, chief executive officer of the bank, said
the 7.1-billion euro deal will have to bring capital into the
country's financial market.
"It is very likely that this will have a very good result
for our country," said Messina.
"A country that is closed to foreign investment, especially
if the GDP is negative or zero, is a country which is far less
likely (to develop)," said Messina.
"I am not against opening to international actors, for
Italy this is one of the few ways to bring productive capital
into the system".
Intesa Sanpaola is one of a group of investors in Camfin,
which has held 26.2% of Pirelli and recently agreed to sell that
stake to China National Chemical Corporation.
The deal anticipates the Chinese conglomerate eventually
taking over Pirelli, founded in Italy in 1872 and is listed on
the Milan exchange.
Messina repeated assurances made earlier in the week by
Pirelli president Marco Tronchetti Provera, who said that
Italian jobs would be protected.
"What matters in companies...is to create value leading to
a growth in value and revenues," said Messina.
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