The chief executive of Intesa Sanpaolo, one of the investors in tire giant Pirelli, said Wednesday that the sale of a majority stake in the Italian company to a Chinese conglomerate will be good for Italy.
Carlo Messina, chief executive officer of the bank, said the 7.1-billion euro deal will have to bring capital into the country's financial market.
"It is very likely that this will have a very good result for our country," said Messina.
"A country that is closed to foreign investment, especially if the GDP is negative or zero, is a country which is far less likely (to develop)," said Messina.
"I am not against opening to international actors, for Italy this is one of the few ways to bring productive capital into the system".
Intesa Sanpaola is one of a group of investors in Camfin, which has held 26.2% of Pirelli and recently agreed to sell that stake to China National Chemical Corporation.
The deal anticipates the Chinese conglomerate eventually taking over Pirelli, founded in Italy in 1872 and is listed on the Milan exchange.
Messina repeated assurances made earlier in the week by Pirelli president Marco Tronchetti Provera, who said that Italian jobs would be protected.
"What matters in companies...is to create value leading to a growth in value and revenues," said Messina.
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