Proton : Talks with VW still on

Talks Still On With Volkswagen, General Motors On Proton, Says Khazanah

KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 (Bernama) -- Volkswagen AG is still talking to national investment arm Khazanah Nasional Bhd on a possible strategic alliance with Proton, as is General Motors, but Khazanah Nasional managing director Datuk Azman Mokhtar was coy today on whether equity participation is still on the table.
He explained that when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said yesterday that VW was not interested in Proton's offer of an equity deal, he was in fact referring to his invitation to the German car maker to talk to him directly.
However, VW has continued to have talks with Khazanah, Azman said. "All the reported interested parties including Volkswagen and General Motors, except for Peugeot who have publicly stepped out of the equation, remain in the picture, notwithstanding some of the statements that may have been made earlier.
"The Prime Minister, I believe, was referring to the fact that Volkswagen had indicated they wanted a meeting from April, so I think he was still waiting (for feedback from Volkswagen by end of March).
"We briefed the Prime Minister today to explain that talks are indeed ongoing and meetings will be set fairly soon," he told reporters at the company's annual review media briefing here.

tunku : pak lah said last week that talks with VW is off for good and proton should look for other parties, but denied by Khazanah later.Even VW said in their latest statement that the talks is still on.Azman ( Khazanah ) said pak lah was unaware and they just briefed him after he made the statement.just look at the scenario, where the pm does not know anything and when reporter asks question, gives the wrong answers.what kind of pm we have.pak lah should sack the md of proton who doest not updates him or md of khazanah.may be these md's report to the man behind the scene and feels that there are no use to brief the pm.god knows best.

Strategic Partner For Proton Must Accept The Ground Rules - Najib

PEKAN, June 1 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said today any potential strategic partner for Proton must appreciate the ground rules involved.
The partner must also abide by the parameters that have been set, he added, reminding that as a vital national company it will never be allowed to fall into foreign control.
"We are seeking a strategic partner to have a firm collaboration of the strengths of both Proton and the partner, and we believe this will enable Proton to become more competitive.
"(Such a collaboration) must be in line with our thinking and our position, otherwise there cannot be an agreement.
"What this means is that we will not simply hand over Proton, we have our stand that a prospective strategic partner must accept," he told reporters after opening Expo ATM 2007 in conjunction with Pekan Fest here.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Volkswagen AG had lost interest in having a strategic partnership in terms of equity with Proton, but the car maker's controlling shareholder, Khazanah Nasional, explained today that talks are ongoing with VW and General Motors.
Najib said Proton must take steps to ensure that it re-emerges as a successful company.
"We don't want to see it wallowing in debt even though the environment and market have become more competitive," he stressed. "I believe Proton is already making efforts to to recover."