Bank of China will be part owner of Saab
A flyer is pictured during a “Save Our Saab” event in Luton, England on January 17, 2010. This group of Saab car owners joined together after it was rumored that General Motors (GM) may cease the Swedish carmaker.
After its own country declined to save it, Saab looked elsewhere and agreed today that it will give the Bank of China part ownership of its car company, according to Reuters.
Last month, it appeared that Chinese investors Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. and Youngman would step in and rescue Saab. However, the Bank of China would now replace Pang Da and together with Youngman, the two organizations would own under half of the company.
The bank is ranked as China's fourth-largest bank by market value. The move would help the struggling car company, which has not released a new car in months due to unpaid salaries and bills, according to Reuters.
Furthermore, this agreement could help Saab salvage its relationship with General Motors.
GM still has shares invested in Saab, but it rejected a previous rescue plan to save the Swedish car company in November: "GM decided to sever its ties," reported The New York Times, "and its commitment to supply [Saab] with vehicle components and the 9-4X model because of the risks posed by Saab’s pending sale to Chinese companies."
According to China Daily, during previous plans between Saab, Panga Da and Youngman reported that they planned to "return Saab to profitability in 2014 and boost annual sales to more than 200,000 units in the long term."
Read more from GlobalPost: Chinese buy Saab. Swedes shrugs.