Why Draghi wants to saw off the Chinese of Alpi Aviation
The Draghi government is ready to use the golden power on Alpi Aviation, a company active in the production of ultralights and military drones at the center of an investigation by the GdF. If this were the case, the agreement for the sale to Chinese investors of 75% of the capital of the Friulian company would fail
The Draghi government is ready to unleash its golden power on Alpi Aviation.
Alpi Aviation Srl, an Italian company based in Friuli that produces military drones, was acquired by a Chinese company controlled by the state in 2018. The Wall Street Journal reported, specifying that shortly after the Beijing-based company started to transfer the company's technologies to China, also used by the Italian army in Afghanistan.
And now the government is preparing a warning to be sent to all parties which would lead to the failure of the agreement for the sale to Chinese investors of 75% of Alpi Aviation's capital. Reuters reported, citing three sources.
In fact, since August the Italian authorities have been investigating the acquisition of Alpi Aviation by a company registered in Hong Kong. The latter, according to investigative hypotheses, acts as a cover for the Chinese state itself, with the aim of transferring the technical and intellectual assets of the Friulian company to a new production site in China.
The Alpi Aviation company supplies, among other things, the Italian armed forces and is therefore subject to specific controls and supervision. The Gdf has already denounced 6 managers (3 Italians and 3 Chinese).
All the details.
THE INVESTIGATION OF THE ITALIAN AUTHORITIES
The Italian and European authorities, explains the WSJ , were unaware of the Chinese acquisition of Alpi Aviation. A fact that – according to the US daily – indicates that Beijing is able to circumvent the weak controls on the European side towards acquisitions aimed at extrapolating sensitive technologies of strategic interest.
The Italian authorities, continues the WSJ , claim to have stumbled upon the links between the Alps and China during a separate investigation.
THE CHINESE ACQUISITION
The acquisition hinges on a scheme, analysts say, in which Chinese state-owned companies use seemingly private shell companies as a hedge to acquire companies producing specific technologies that they then relocate to new facilities in China.
WHAT ALPI AVIATION SRL DOES
As it defines on its website, “since 1999 Alpi Aviation has been a point of reference for those who want to fly in an accessible, quality, safe and pleasant way”.
The company based in Pordenone is a leader in the production of aircraft and helicopters, ultralights and general aviation as well as UAVs (remotely piloted aircraft)
One of the reference markets of the company, as stated in the 2019 financial report, is that relating to drones for military use in addition to that of ultralights.
The company has 25 employees. The main branch is in Croatia and is dedicated to the construction of wooden parts and a first assembly of the aircraft.
The company has sold over 1,000 Alpi Aviation aircraft, with thousands of flight hours, in 31 countries.
FINISHED THE SIGHT OF THE GDF
As summarized by the Nova agency , Alpi had ended up on the radar of the Guardia di Finanza twice in 2009, when it was suspected of having sold parts of aircraft and drones to Iran in violation of the embargo in force.
Alpi denied any wrongdoing, stating that he had not sold any technology to Iran that could be used for military purposes.
CONFIRMED THE CONNECTION OF THE ITALIAN COMPANY WITH CHINA
The police, explains the Journal , say that two searches of the Alpi offices this year clearly revealed the Italian company's connection with China. In July 2018, a company called Mars Information Technology, which had registered in Hong Kong just two months earlier, bought a 75% stake in Alpi for 4 million euros and then invested another 1.5 million euros in it.
THE PARTNERS
As can be seen from the company survey, in fact, with a share capital of 2,810,000 euros, Alpi Aviation srl is 75% controlled by Mars (HK) information technology co., Limited with headquarters in Hong Kong. 16% belongs to Moreno Stinat and the remaining 8.5% to Corrado Rusalen.
Chairman of the board is the Chinese Wei Jianhua and the Italians Moreno Stinat and Massimo Tammaro both hold the role of directors. The board of directors are made up of: Corrado Rusalen, the Chinese Su Bin and Xu Xiaojun and Qi Rong with New Zealand citizenship.
THE NUMBERS
The production value of Alpi Aviation srl at 31 December 2019 was 5,407,042 (up from 4,975,085 in 2018).
The group closed the 2019 financial year as follows: the profit amounted to € 37,815 (down from € 390,531 in 2018). The costs of production amounted to 5,460,542 euros.
The company boasts a total of tangible fixed assets worth € 899,745, and a total debt of € 3,169,373.
ALL TIMES OF THE GOLDEN POWER
In conclusion, the Italian government would therefore be ready to exercise the so-called Golden power to block the Chinese sale of Alpi Aviation. It would not be the first time that the regulatory tool has been used to avoid the sale of strategic assets to foreign powers.
On March 31, the council of ministers used the veto to block the sale of 70% of the LPE to the Chinese company Shenzhen Investment Holdings Co. Later, the government decided to block the purchase by the Chinese company Syngenta of the Romagna company. of Verisem seeds.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/perche-draghi-vuole-segare-i-cinesi-di-alpi-aviation/ on Wed, 17 Nov 2021 10:38:16 +0000.