Cellphone maker to offload JV stake

SHANGHAI: Ningbo Bird, one of the nation's largest cellphone manufacturers, said yesterday it will sell its 50 percent joint venture stake to French partner Sagem for 159 million yuan.

Zhejiang-based Ningbo Bird set up Ningbo Bird Sagem Electronics with Paris-based Sagem, the world's sixth largest cellphone maker, in 2005. The joint venture had registered capital of $25.4 million to develop and produce cellphones for domestic sales and exports.

In a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Ningbo Bird said the agreed selling price was based on the net asset value of the joint venture company as at Dec 31, 2007. An extraordinary shareholders' meeting will be held on March 17 to ratify the proposed transaction, the statement said.