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Associated Press
Media: SAIC Never Planned to Buy Rover
04.11.2005, 11:10 PM
Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. refused comment Tuesday on the state of its talks with MG Rover, though state media said the Chinese company had never planned to buy the bankrupt British car maker.
SAIC "never mentioned buying the company," the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing an unnamed spokesman for the Shanghai-based company.
"SAIC has been talking with MG Rover since last year about funding a joint venture in Great Britain," Xinhua cited the spokesman as saying.
In Britain, the talks with SAIC were viewed as a potential lifesaving takeover for MG Rover, which was put into administration, a form of bankruptcy, last week after talks with the Chinese automaker collapsed.
But in its rare comments on the talks, the Chinese side has been careful to describe the proposed deal with Rover as a joint venture - one that it apparently decided against after discovering the liabilities it might face through the tie up.
Staff at SAIC's headquarters refused any comment on the talks, saying their spokesman was out attending a conference.
The Xinhua report cited unnamed analysts in Shanghai as saying that SAIC had learned that MG Rover's financial situation was worse than it expected and feared it would have to repay a 427 million British pound (US$ ) interest-free loan to MG Rover from former owner BMW if it went ahead with the joint venture, it said.
SAIC Never Planned to Buy Rover
Media: SAIC Never Planned to Buy Rover
04.11.2005, 11:10 PM
Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. refused comment Tuesday on the state of its talks with MG Rover, though state media said the Chinese company had never planned to buy the bankrupt British car maker.
SAIC "never mentioned buying the company," the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing an unnamed spokesman for the Shanghai-based company.
"SAIC has been talking with MG Rover since last year about funding a joint venture in Great Britain," Xinhua cited the spokesman as saying.
In Britain, the talks with SAIC were viewed as a potential lifesaving takeover for MG Rover, which was put into administration, a form of bankruptcy, last week after talks with the Chinese automaker collapsed.
But in its rare comments on the talks, the Chinese side has been careful to describe the proposed deal with Rover as a joint venture - one that it apparently decided against after discovering the liabilities it might face through the tie up.
Staff at SAIC's headquarters refused any comment on the talks, saying their spokesman was out attending a conference.
The Xinhua report cited unnamed analysts in Shanghai as saying that SAIC had learned that MG Rover's financial situation was worse than it expected and feared it would have to repay a 427 million British pound (US$ ) interest-free loan to MG Rover from former owner BMW if it went ahead with the joint venture, it said.
SAIC Never Planned to Buy Rover