(Bloomberg) -- Pirelli & C. SpA’s largest investor, Sinochem International Corp., is under review for a potential breach of a local government rule aimed at limiting China’s influence over strategically important assets.
The office of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni started an “administrative procedure” for the possible violation of so-called golden power law by Sinochem’s subsidiary China National Tire and Rubber, Pirelli said in a statement on Wednesday.
The investigation’s goal is checking whether Pirelli’s directors representing Sinochem also have a role in the Chinese conglomerate’s organization. China National Tire and Rubber, also known as CNRC, says it always respected the measures of the golden power rule and is confident that it will clarify its position, according to the Pirelli statement.
Meloni’s government used its golden power rights in 2023 to impose restrictions on Sinochem’s access to information from sensors in Pirelli tires. The aim is to protect a Pirelli technology that collects location and infrastructure data that could be used for industrial optimization and feed into artificial intelligence models, making it critical to national security, Rome said at the time.
Pirelli makes tires for high-end brands including Ferrari NV, McLaren Automotive Ltd. and Bentley Motors Ltd.
Earlier this year, Pirelli’s management and auditors started analyzing the “permanence of the control” that MPI Italy — a business controlled by Sinochem — has over the Formula One supplier, Pirelli said at that time.
The provision sets a period of 120 days for the conclusion of the administrative procedure.
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