Geely Auto released its first-half financial report, showing a 46% year-on-year increase in core net profit, but announced on the same day that founder Li Shufu has resigned as Chairman of the Board to become Lifetime Honorary Chairman, with An Conghui succeeding him.
During his tenure as Secretary of the CCP Zhejiang Provincial Committee, Xi Jinping went to Taizhou for research and visited the Geely factory, providing early political and credit endorsement for Geely, which was then a small private factory.
Li Shufu spent 7.3 billion euros through an overseas entity to become the largest shareholder of Daimler. The acquisition funds and the regulatory green light have sparked speculation about political-business relations.
Geely completed the acquisition of Volvo for $1.8 billion, with local state-owned capital from Daqing and Jiading, Shanghai, participating in the funding and securing commitments for industrial bases.