China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has agreed to buy a 49.9 percent stake in Malaysia's national carmaker Proton, the two sides announced at a press conference on Wednesday.
中国浙江吉利控股集团同意购买马来西亚汽车制造商宝腾49.9%的股份，双方周三在一场新闻发布会上宣布了该消息。
Geely also agreed to buy a majority share of 51 percent in Lotus, a former British sports car brand which was acquired by Proton in 1996.
The price of the stake sales was not disclosed, and the two sides expected to reach a
definitive deal before the end of July.
Proton, which was founded in 1983 by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, has been under-performing in recent years and relied heavily on government loans to continue its operation.
Geely, headquartered in east China's Zhejiang Province, rose to stardom in 2010 when it bought Volvo Cars from
Ford. Since then, it has successfully revived the struggling brand.
In 2016, Geely sold 1.3 million cars globally, including around 766,000 in the Geely brand and around 530,000 Volvo cars.
With Proton and Lotus joining the Geely Group
portfolio of brands, Geely will strengthen its global footprint and develop a beachhead in Southeast Asia, said Li Donghui, executive
vice president and CFO of Geely.
"Geely is full of confidence for the future of Proton," he said, adding they also aims to
unleash the full potential of Lotus cars thanks to experience accumulated through Volvo's revitalization.
相关单词：definitive
definitive解释：adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的
definitive例句：
This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。
相关单词：Ford
Ford解释：n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过
Ford例句：
They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。
相关单词：portfolio
portfolio解释：n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位
portfolio例句：
He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。
相关单词：vice
vice解释：n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的
vice例句：
He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
相关单词：unleash
unleash解释：vt.发泄，发出；解带子放开
unleash例句：
They hope to create allies to unleash against diseases,pests,and invasive species.他们希望创造出一些新群体来对付疾病、害虫和一些有侵害性的物种。
Changing water levels now at times unleash a miasma of disease from exposed sewage.如今，大坝不时地改变水位，从暴露的污水释放出了疾病瘴气。
