Pirelli's US business hindered by Sinochem's stake, says Tronchetti Provera

ROME (Reuters) - Pirelli is having difficulties investing in the United States because its largest shareholder is China's state-owned Sinochem, the Italian tyremaker's executive vice chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera said in a newspaper interview on Tuesday.

Pirelli's Chinese and Italian shareholders are at odds over the group's governance as Washington cracks down on Chinese technology in the automotive industry, banning key software and hardware from Chinese-controlled companies.

Tronchetti Provera told Italian daily la Repubblica that Sinochem's 37% stake had proved a hurdle when Pirelli had negotiated with local authorities over doing business in the states of Alabama and Virginia.

"Now we are negotiating with Georgia, where we already have a factory, and once again objections are being raised," said Tronchetti Provera, who was Pirelli's CEO for 30 years up to 2022.

Tronchetti Provera said he was confident an agreement would be reached with Sinochem to overcome the U.S. concerns.

"We will find a way, in the interests of Pirelli, to comply with American laws," he said.

"It is too important a market for us not to be able to play on a level playing field with our competitors."

(Reporting by Gavin Jones; Editing by David Goodman and Jamie Freed)

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