General Motors gets $ 4bn rescue package

Washington, Jan 1: In the end, General Motors (GM) one of the major automakers in United States gets a rescue package. The US Treasury on Wednesday, Dec 31 said that it had finalised to grant first tranche of $4 billion emergency loan to GM. Brookly McLaughlin, the Treasury spokeswomen said, "the department finalised the loan transaction for GM and funded the first tranche of $4 billion."

This loan is part of a $13.4 billion bailout package the US government approved this month for GM and Chrysler to avoid collapse amid tight credit and minimal sales. GM wil receive an additional $5.4 billion in mid-January and would be eligible for a further $4 billion from February pending congressional action. Treasury has also provided $6 billion in aid to GMAC, GM's financial arm.

Reports suggest that under the agreement GM should prove their viability by March 31 or should pay back the fund to government within 30 days. McLaughlin said the agency is "working expeditiously with Chrysler to finalise that transaction and we remain committed to closing it on a timeline that will meet near-term funding needs."

Automaker Chrysler is hoping to obtain its rescue package of $4 billion at the earliest. In a statement Chrysler said, "We recognise the magnitude of the effort by the Treasury Department to complete these multiple financial arrangements quickly and sequentially."

OneIndia News (With inputs from Agencies)