German machinery manufacturer KraussMaffei (KM, Munich; www.kraussmaffei.com) is to be listed on the stock exchange in China. To this end, parent company China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina, Beijing; www.chemchina.com.cn), which has had a majority holding in KM since April 2016 (see Plasteurope.com of 04.05.2016), is intending to integrate the manufacturer of plastics and rubber machinery in the Qingdao Tianhua Institute of Chemistry Engineering (Qingdao, Shandong / China). Qingdao Tianhua, also a subsidiary of ChemChina, is already listed on the Shanghai stock exchange. The company will additionally be taking up three facilities in China in which ChemChina produces machines for tyre and rubber production. The transaction is subject to the approval of the relevant authorities.

"The KraussMaffei business will account for around 85% of the listed company," says KraussMaffei CEO Frank Stieler. The company will manage foreign business from Germany and operate its Chinese business locally. The KM headquarters will remain in Munich, and the company's legal form, all its employees and trade union agreements will remain unchanged.

"The planned transaction will give us access to the capital market, and, with the new financial resources, we will have the opportunity to further develop our company and accelerate its planned growth," Stieler adds. For 2017, KM is expecting sales of more than EUR 1.3 bn, after revenue the previous year increased by 5% to EUR 1.27 bn. The company's headcount worldwide is to increase by 350. Employee numbers already exceeded the 5,000 mark in August.