Haier consolidates home appliance business

Haier consolidates home appliance business

China’s white goods maker Haier is consolidating its home appliance business by integrating its two subsidiaries listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong, China Daily reported Wednesday.
Shanghai-listed Qingdao Haier Co. Ltd. is planning to buy a 31.93 percent stake in Haier Electronic Group Co. Ltd. from its parent Haier Group, to increase its holdings in the Hong Kong-listed company to 51.31 percent.
Both the companies are yet to formalize the arrangement, but a preliminary agreement has been reached, the newspaper said, citing a statement of Qingdao Haier.
Qingdao Haier will become the flagship for the white goods business and add Haier Electronic’s washing machine and water heater to its line up of refrigerators, air conditioners and ice chests, the newspaper reported, citing Ming Guozhen, secretary to the board of directors of Qingdao Haier.
Haier currently has 29 manufacturing plants, eight comprehensive research and development centers and 19 overseas trading companies across the world. It employs over 50,000 at these facilities. In 2008, the group reported global revenue of 119 billion yuan (17.5 billion U.S. dollars).
Qingdao Haier reported a 28.72 percent year-on-year increase innet profit during the first nine months of this year to 966 million yuan. Haier Electronic posted profit of 163.15 million Hong Kong dollars (21 million U.S. dollars) in the first six months, up 27.15 percent over the same period in 2008, according to the newspaper.