DaimlerChrysler to take 24% truckmaker stake

DaimlerChrysler AG, the world's largest truckmaker, will acquire 24% of China's biggest light-truck maker, Beijing-based Beiqi Foton Motor Co, Bloomberg reported. The German automaker will pay US$104 million for the stake, Foton said in a statement. At US$0.35 a share, the purchase price is 24% lower than Foton's closing share price of US$0.46 on November 21, the last day the stock traded. Economic growth and the booming construction sector is driving demand for trucks in China; sales of light trucks rose 13% to 628,549 units in the first nine months of 2006, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.