Brilliance 'sell' rating

Standard & Poors said on Thursday its Asian equity research team is initiating coverage of Chinese automaker Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Limited with a "sell" rating on concern about risks associated with its planned car production.

"Given a potential downside of 21 percent to our cash based price target of HK$1.50, we initiate coverage of Brilliance China with a sell call," S&P said in a research note.

German luxury carmaker BMW AG and Brilliance China, which is China's largest van maker, plan to make up to 30,000 BMW 3-and 5-series cars per year in the north-eastern province of Liaoning.