Malaysia
official: Progress made on Proton talks
Malaysia's state investment arm, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, is making
steady progress in talks to find a foreign partner for national
carmaker Proton, Khazanah Managing Director Azman Mokhtar said
today.
Khazanah, which owns 43 percent of the loss-making carmaker, is in
negotiations with Volkswagen and General Motors to sell some of its
stake in Proton, which is struggling against international
competition.
Volkswagen is viewed as the frontrunner to partner with Proton and
has held two rounds of talks with the Malaysian government. A third
round could be in the offing but talks with General Motors are also
under way, a minister said this week.
Speaking to reporters in the Malaysian capital today, Azman said,
"Firstly, talks are ongoing still with Proton and Volkswagen and
Proton and General Motors. Second point, as the minister outlined
yesterday, my team continues to talk and I think we're making
steady progress."
On Monday, Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Malaysia's second finance minister,
said the possibility of selling a stake in Proton to Volkswagen was
"reasonably good".
"The fact that we had a first round, a second round, a possible
third round, means that things are progressing," Nor Mohamed told a
press briefing at the World Economic Forum in neighboring
Singapore, referring to talks with Volkswagen.
Azman reiterated that the issue of finding a partner for Proton
would be resolved by the end of the year.
"I won't get into specifics. There are many ways to skin the deal,
so to speak. What matters is actually to get into a position
whereby there's a genuine partnership on both sides. We are open
and considering all options at this point."
Proton has been struggling with a steadily declining market share
at home due to fierce competition, and has been unable to make up
for this through higher exports.
It reported a fourth straight quarterly loss in May as sales
continued to slide, and warned of tough conditions ahead.
