China's Geely Auto shares surge on news of chairman's stake in Daimler

Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd shares jumped as much as 8.8 per cent after its chairman Li Shufu said he had built up a near 10 per cent stake in Germany's Daimler - a $9 billion bet that he can access the Mercedes-Benz owner's technology.

The stock surged as high as to HK$26 in early trade, its highest level since January 24. That compared with a 0.8 per cent rise in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.

Li is expected to meet Daimler executives in Stuttgart on Monday, a source familiar with the matter has said, and hopes to meet top German government officials in Berlin.