SocGen, Baosteel forms China auto-leasing venture

SHANGHAI, Nov 10 (Reuters) - French bank Societe Generale (SocGen) (SOGN.PA) has formed an auto-leasing venture with China's biggest steelmaker Baosteel Group, aiming to build a fleet of 10,000 vehicles in five years.

The Shanghai-based venture, equally owned by SocGen unit ALD Automotive and Baosteel's financial arm Fortune Trust, had a registered capital of 50 million yuan ($7.3 million) and would serve multinationals in China and major Chinese state-owned enterprises, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

Sixty-two-year-old ALD Automotive is one of the biggest auto-leasing company in Europe, and 80 percent of its global clients have investments in China.

SocGen and Baosteel also own another venture in China, Fortune SGAM Fund Management Co. (US$1=6.832 Yuan)