An investment deal between Saab and potential Chinese investor Pang Da is still on course. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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The response came after a news report cited Pang Da chairman Pang Qinghua as saying an agreement between Saab and the Chinese car company is no longer valid after the Swedish carmaker entered bankruptcy protection.
”Swedish Automobile, Saab Automobile and Pang Da underline that these reports are based on a misunderstanding,” Swedish Automobile said in the statement on Wednesday.
Earlier, the company’s CEO Victor Muller told Reuters by text message that the investment in Saab was ”on track with both Pang Da and Youngman.”
Saab is waiting for Chinese government approval to allow Pang Da and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. to make a 245 million euro ($352 million) investment in the automaker.
Pang Da has already paid 45 million euros to Saab for a separate deal to purchase 2,000 cars but has not received any cars due to a production halt since April.
Asked by reporters on Wednesday whether the deal had been submitted to China’s National Development and Reform Commission for approval, Pang Da’s chairman said: “Youngman’s Pang Qingnian is the one that is supposed to send the application to NDRC. As far as I know, he is soliciting opinion among industry experts regarding the deal. They are not done with it yet.”
When asked about the prospects for winning approval, he added, “I think the NDRC supports companies to head overseas, they come in and we go out. I think the government would be quite supportive on that front. When it comes to Saab, I think if it’s in China, the government certainly wouldn’t let it collapse.”
A spokesperson for Youngman declined to comment.
Gaining Chinese government clearance could be difficult as Beijing follows a strict and price-sensitive policy when it comes to overseas acquisitions.
Failure to gain Beijing’s approval on time stopped a deal Saab entered into with Chinese firm Hawtai Motor Group in May, while Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery’s bid to buy GM’s Hummer in 2010 also fell through.
