PARIS, June 29, 2009 (AFP) - French fashion giant Pierre Cardin said on Monday 29 June it had no plans for a sell-off to Chinese companies but was planning only to sell certain licences.

A model wears a dress by French designer Pierre Cardin at a fashion show in Beijing - Photo:AFP/Peter Parks/File

"This is not about the sale of the Pierre Cardin group," a spokesman told AFP. "The couturier is in talks with Chinese companies only on the sale of certain licences in China, as it did in the past for Japan for example."

The brand has around 800 licences spread across 140 countries, he noted.

Earlier Monday 29 June Pierre Cardin's chief representative in China Fang Fang said that "Mr Cardin is considering selling the China and the overall global brand."

The Shenzhen Commercial Daily newspaper said Monday 29 June the Jiansheng Trading Company in south China's Guangdong province had offered 200 million euros (280 million dollars) to acquire the brand.

The newspaper quoted Jiansheng company officials as saying they hoped a deal could be completed within a month.

Fang refused to confirm the names of the Chinese bidders, but said a joint bid between two companies from Guangdong and Zhejiang had been made.

Pierre Cardin arrived in China in 1978 and was one of the first Western fashion houses to enter the nation after Beijing embarked on economic reforms and opened up to the outside world.