Malaysia govt confirms General Motors' interest in Proton |
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Fri, 12 Jan 2007 04:08
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KUALA LUMPUR (XFN-ASIA) - Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop has confirmed media reports that General Motors Corp (GM) is interested in a stake in national carmaker Proton Holdings Bhd.''GM is interested in Proton and we are looking at it,'' Nor Mohamed told reporters.He added that the government is evaluating Proton's strategic partners and is expected to decide on the matter during the current quarter.''We have come to the end of our discussion with the various parties and we are now evaluating who is the best,'' he said.The New Straits Times recently reported that GM is planning to make a bid for Malaysia's struggling automaker Proton, joining Volkswagen AG and PSA Peugeot Citroen, which are also reputed suitors.The report, citing unnamed sources, said GM officials have met several times with Proton management and shareholders since November, in its third approach to the Malaysian carmaker in almost a decade.The daily said that in 1998 the US auto giant offered to take a stake in Proton but that its offer was not taken up, and that three years ago it initiated talks on a technical tie-up with its South Korean unit.The current bid involves a plan to take a small stake in Proton at the holding level, as well as a stake in its manufacturing arm, it said.The Malaysian government is currently negotiating a partnership deal aimed at providing Proton with the expertise it needs to arrest a sharp decline in its market share in a newly competitive market.It owns 59 pct of Proton, including a 43 pct stake held by its investment arm Khazanah Nasional, and is believed to be aiming to conclude the negotiations by March.Three Malaysian automotive companies -- DRB-HICOM, the Naza group and the Mofaz group -- have also expressed interest in acquiring all or part of the government's stake.Proton Holdings Bhd had recently said it was not aware of the reported approach by GM to acquire a stake in the Malaysian automaker following the New Straits Times report.'This is a shareholder matter -- as far as the management is concerned, we are not aware (of the reported bid),' Proton's head of group corporate communications, Faridah Idris, told XFN-Asia following the report.(1 usd = 3.51 rgt)ishun.ahmad@xinhuafinance.comish/km
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GM to join bidders for Malaysia's Proton - report 