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STOP Acquisition. New rules coming for Chinese company buying Italian Companies



In 2021 the government was forced to dissect 496 cases to cover Italian companies from possible accession attempts (especially) of China. An action allowed by the so- called Golden Power, a package of special powers that since 2012 allows the superintendent to block or put conditions on fiscal deals relating to strategic sectors. originally it could only be touched off in relation to companies in the defense, public security, energy, transport and dispatches sectors; also the 2021 changes also included food, insurance, health and finance. In summary, it's a protection of the interests of the country and the protection can be touched off in favor of both large companies and SMEs.


According to the rearmost Report on Special Powers presented to Parliament by the Undersecretary to the Prime Minister, Roberto Garofoli, of the 496 operations there was a single outright proscription. On March 31, 2021, the Draghi government blocked the attempted accession of the state- possessed Shenzhen Investment effects against 70 of the semiconductor manufacturer LPE SpA.



In general, with the legislation on golden power, even before the pandemic and the war arrived, it was decided to control technologies and manufacturing skills in some sectors, also following the lines drawn by the EU. The loss of manufacturing base is the main problem for our society. The future of our country must be sought by making the culture of manufacturing evolve, because the easy way of consuming more and less and producing less and less, outsourcing the difference to others, has led to the now structural crisis we are in, he told Affari & Finance Cesare Pozzi, professor of industrial economics at the University of Foggia and at Luiss.

86% of announcementsrelated to the energy, transport and dispatchessectors, while 10% related to publicsecurity and 4 to 5G mobile. also out of the 496 cases exposed, 277 didn't fall within the range of action of the law, in 108 it was decided not to exercise Golden Power, in 67 cases the simplified procedure was touched off because they wereintra-group deals and eventually in 26 conventions were assessed and conditions.


Among the most striking exemplifications was the blocking of the transfer of technologies from the specialist in robotic artificial controls Robox of Castelletto Sopra Ticino( Novara) to the Chinese Efort Intelligent Equipment. There was a specialized license at stake that would have acted as a possible passepartout for an increase in the company's share from the current 40% to 49%.


Novara author Roberto Montorsi verified the use of the navigator as the intention was only to allow the use of source canons to Chinese mates. In any case, according to the authors, an important investment that would have favored the company was blocked. also there was the opposition to the trade of some business branches of Applied Accoutrements Italia, the attachment of the US group of the same name specializing in outfit, services and software for the product of semiconductor chips for electronics, observers, smartphones, TVs and solar panels, in Zhejiang Jingsheng Mechanical.


The same block that took shape with Verisem's vegetable seeds in Syngenta( Swiss possessed by China). And with 75% of the share capital of the service drone specialist Alpi Aviation at the Chinese Mars Information Technology. The rearmost case, which falls within 2022, enterprises Faber Industrie, a wellknown manufacturer of storehouse for hydrogen.


Again the government blocked the preemption attempt by the Russian Rusatom Gas Tech, which is part of the Russian State Atomic Energy Agency.


According to Professor Pozzi, the use of special powers is correct, but also an artificial policy should be espoused to support strategic companies. You cover them to make them grow, not to wither them.


Source: Dario D'Elia

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