BMW to invest €100m in China

BMW Group announced Monday evening that it inked an agreement with the Chinese Brilliance Auto (or Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd) under which the German automaker will invest EUR 100 million in the world's largest car market. The agreement was signed under the joint patronage of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, now on a three-day official visit to Germany, spokesperson of the Munich-based Group told reporters here. The funds will be channeled to the purchase of equipment for an auto manufacturing factory and a center for economic research in China, according to the spokesperson. The two companies started cooperation in this industry in 2003 under an agreement which allowed Brilliance Auto to run two BMW-owned factories in China. The two factories started building BMW engines in 2012.