French authorities proposed the integration of Renault and Nissan under a single holding company, according to Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei.
A delegation including Martin Vial, a Renault director designated by the French government, visited Japan to relay Paris' intentions to Japanese authorities, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources.
However, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire was quick to play down the reports and said there are no plans to change the structure of the alliance.
“No shareholding re-balancing or modification of cross shareholdings between Renault and Nissan are on the table,” Mr Le Maire said on Sunday, adding that France wanted “solid and stable” governance at the helm of the company.
Initial reports in the French media said, France wants Renault to name Nissan's next chairman, a position that has remained vacant since the November arrest of Carlos Ghosn, an industry titan accused of financial irregularities.
The original alliance between Renault and Nissan gives the French car maker the right to choose top Nissan executives, Nikkei said.
Two months after the arrest stunned Nissan and the global automotive industry, the Japanese car maker is weighing abolishing the chairman role as it steps up reforms to rebuild its governance. The scandal has according to various media leaks, also strained the company’s partnership with Renault, a union held together by Mr Ghosn for two decades.
However, as tensions simmer to surface in Mr Ghosn's absence, France's government – Renault's largest shareholder – has renewed its push for a merger. Nissan has opposed a combination of the two companies, not least because the French government would be a major stakeholder in a shared holding company, potentially giving it greater sway over the Japanese car manufacturer, according to Nikkei.
The French government owns about 15 per cent of Renault, which in turn controls 43.4 per cent of Nissan. Nissan holds only a 15 per cent non-voting stake in its French partner. Renault is expected to appoint Mr Ghosn's replacement soon, according to the Japanese paper, with Paris leading the search for a successor and the new leadership could take a harder line in negotiations with Nissan at the behest of the French government.
Last month, Renault said it planned to name a new director to the board of Nissan and safeguard power within their alliance.
"Renault wants to exercise the possibility to name its directors and this will be done at a shareholders' meeting," Mr Vial, told BFM Business, a French business TV station.
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Read more:
Carlos Ghosn faces fresh allegations of receiving $9m improperly from Nissan-Mitsubishi JV
France rounds on Ghosn as government calls for his ousting from Renault
Wife of Carlos Ghosn writes letter to draw attention to his 'harsh' treatment
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Michelin chief executive Jean-Dominique Senard could be a good choice to head Renault, said Mr Le Maire, according to French media reports on Sunday. Asked whether Mr Senard would replace Mr Ghosn, the French minister said: “It is up to the board of directors to examine proposals presented to it by the appointments committee. The French state, as shareholder, will have its say.”
Earlier, Nissan chief executive Hiroto Saikawa, a protege of Mr Ghosn, rebuffed the French car maker's demand for a meeting of all shareholders to discuss Nissan's governance, something it would need to do to change its board representation.
The French government has sought integration between the two companies to render the alliance irreversible, a position that some speculate is due to Renault's dependence on Nissan for research and development as well as for much of its profit.
Mr Ghosn was reportedly planning a merger of the two companies before his November 19 arrest. That led to speculation that his fall from grace was part of an internal coup at the Japanese company.
Mr Ghosn is facing fresh charges of improperly receiving €7.8 million (Dh36.9m) in compensation from a joint venture between Nissan and Mitsubishi. A joint investigation by the Japanese companies alleges that Mr Ghosn, was compensated by the JV without any discussion with two other board members – Nissan chief Mr Saikawa, and Osamu Masuko, chief executive of Mitsubishi. Renault has said it found no record of wrongdoing from its own internal investigation.
Nissan holds a controlling stake in Mitsubishi Motors. Mr Ghosn, who made his only court appearance earlier this month, has denied all charges against him and said he "acted honorably, legally and with the knowledge and approval of the appropriate executives inside the company – with the sole purpose of strengthening Nissan".
Book%20Details
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MATCH INFO
Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')
Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')
Biography
Favourite drink: Must have karak chai and Chinese tea every day
Favourite non-Chinese food: Arabic sweets and Indian puri, small round bread of wheat flour
Favourite Chinese dish: Spicy boiled fish or anything cooked by her mother because of its flavour
Best vacation: Returning home to China
Music interests: Enjoys playing the zheng, a string musical instrument
Enjoys reading: Chinese novels, romantic comedies, reading up on business trends, government policy changes
Favourite book: Chairman Mao Zedong’s poems
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes. Portland is a 260 km drive from Seattle and Emirates offers codeshare flights to Portland with its partner Alaska Airlines.
The car
Hertz (www.hertz.ae) offers compact car rental from about $300 per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.
Parks and accommodation
For information on Crater Lake National Park, visit www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm . Because of the altitude, large parts of the park are closed in winter due to snow. While the park’s summer season is May 22-October 31, typically, the full loop of the Rim Drive is only possible from late July until the end of October. Entry costs $25 per car for a day. For accommodation, see www.travelcraterlake.com. For information on Umpqua Hot Springs, see www.fs.usda.gov and https://soakoregon.com/umpqua-hot-springs/. For Bend, see https://www.visitbend.com/.
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
French Touch
Carla Bruni
(Verve)
Where to buy art books in the UAE
There are a number of speciality art bookshops in the UAE.
In Dubai, The Lighthouse at Dubai Design District has a wonderfully curated selection of art and design books. Alserkal Avenue runs a pop-up shop at their A4 space, and host the art-book fair Fully Booked during Art Week in March. The Third Line, also in Alserkal Avenue, has a strong book-publishing arm and sells copies at its gallery. Kinokuniya, at Dubai Mall, has some good offerings within its broad selection, and you never know what you will find at the House of Prose in Jumeirah. Finally, all of Gulf Photo Plus’s photo books are available for sale at their show.
In Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi has a beautiful selection of catalogues and art books, and Magrudy’s – across the Emirates, but particularly at their NYU Abu Dhabi site – has a great selection in art, fiction and cultural theory.
In Sharjah, the Sharjah Art Museum sells catalogues and art books at its museum shop, and the Sharjah Art Foundation has a bookshop that offers reads on art, theory and cultural history.
Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)
Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15
Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)
Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49
The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
50-man Royal Rumble
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho
John Cena v Triple H
Matches to be announced
WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Raw Tag Team Championship, United States Championship and the Cruiserweight Championship are all due to be defended
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.