GM may bid for stake in Malaysia's Proton: Report

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 10: US car maker General Motors Corp plansto bid for a stake in Malaysian state-controlled auto firm ProtonHoldings Bhd as early as this month, the Business Times said onWednesday.

GM plans to take a small stake in Proton and a separate equityholding in the loss-making firm's manufacturing arm, the Malaysiandaily said, quoting an unnamed industry executive.

Proton badly needs to forge an alliance with a global car maker toreverse sliding sales and safeguard its future, industry analysts say.For the major car makers, Proton offers an under-utilised,state-of-the-art production platform in Asia.

''Since late November, GM had met several times with themanagement and the shareholders of Proton,'' the Business Times quotedthe executive as saying.

It said a Proton official had declined to comment and GM had not responded to an email inquiry.

It quoted Proton's major shareholder, state investment armKhazanah Nasional, as saying: ''We are unable to confirm or deny on anyspecifics relating to this matter at this point in time.'' Thegovernment says it is willing to sell some equity to secure a partnerfor Proton and that it is talking to several major car makers,including Germany's Volkswagen and France's Peugeot Citroen.

Reuters>