By Agnieszka Flak
MILAN (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) (MI:FCHA) (N:FCAU) has denied a media report saying it was considering a move in the tax residence of its Ferrari luxury sportscar unit outside Italy.
"These rumors have no grounds," FCA said in a statement. "There is no intention to move the tax residence of Ferrari SpA outside Italy, nor is there any project to delocalize its Italian operations, which will continue to be subject to Italian tax jurisdiction."
FCA chief Sergio Marchionne said in October he would spin off Ferrari from the group next year, selling a 10 percent stake via a public offering and distributing the rest of FCA's stake to its shareholders.
The carmaker will be listed in the United States and possibly a European exchange, FCA has said.
The newly created FCA and sister company CNH Industrial, combining the spun-off Fiat Industrial with CNH to create a U.S.-listed manufacturer of trucks and tractors, have moved their headquarters and tax domicile to Britain and their legal base to the Netherlands.
The moves mark a politically sensitive shift away from Italy, Fiat's home for the past 115 years.
Both companies have a primary listing in New York but are also listed in Milan.
A move in Ferrari's tax base away from Italy would be unpopular with the government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, which is pushing through reforms to create jobs and to revive an economy mired in recession.
However, Rome has so far been careful not to antagonize Italy's biggest manufacturing employer, stressing its pledges to invest billions of euros in production showed Fiat's commitment to its origins.
FCA shares closed down 6.3 percent in Milan and were down 3.2 percent at $11.1 in New York by 2029 GMT, weighed down by the response to the pricing of the company's bond and share offerings released earlier on Thursday.
(Editing by David Holmes)