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SAIC says likely to participate in GM IPO

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-10-15 15:08
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SHANGHAI - China's top automaker SAIC Motor Corp's does not rule out the possibility of participating in General Motors' initial public offering (IPO), Reuters reported Friday, citing the company's chairman.

SAIC says likely to participate in GM IPO

Showgirls pose next to a SAIC Motor's MG sedan (L) and a Roewe sedan at the Exhibition for China-made Autos with Independent Technology on July 16 in Beijing. MG and Roewe are domestic brands of SAIC Motor. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

Sources told Reuters in September that SAIC Motor Corp reached out to General Motors to explore the prospect of taking a stake in the US automaker.

The contact between state-backed SAIC -- which has a 13-year relationship with GM -- and GM has been informal and SAIC has expressed an interest in acquiring a "single digit" share in GM, sources said.

SAIC is positive on GM and believes the restructuring is bringing GM to a healthy direction of development, SAIC's Chairman Hu Maoyuan said at a conference.

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The company will study and pay close attention to GM's IPO, as the demand in the US will pick up as the economy recovers, Hu said.

Hu also said SAIC hopes its green cars will account for 20 percent of the overall Chinese market for those vehicles within five years.

SAIC said this week it expects net profit for the first nine months of the year to grow by at least 140 percent from a year earlier on strong vehicle demand.

The firm, which runs vehicle manufacturing ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen, sold 324,831 vehicles last month, it said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Monday.

China, which overtook the United States as the world's biggest auto market last year, has been a major bright spot as the global industry struggles to recover from a steep downturn.

But the market has been slowing since May as Beijing has taken measures to keep the economy from overheating.

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