General Motors (GM) Corp kept Germans guessing over the weekend over the fate of its troubled Opel unit even as pressure mounted for a decision on a proposed takeover by Canada’s Magna International.
With just five weeks until German elections, leading politicians on Sunday ratcheted up calls for GM and the US authorities to make a decision as early as next week.
“The sooner the better,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told ZDF TV in an interview for broadcast late on Sunday. “I wanted it to come on Friday evening. Now, I hope it will be next week.”
The board of GM — which emerged from bankruptcy protection last month — met on Friday in Detroit to mull the future of Opel, but said in a statement that the meeting ended with no decision made.
The board discussed two takeover offers on the table — one from Canadian autoparts maker Magna International and state Russian lender Sberbank, and another from Brussels-based investment group RHJ International.
A German Economy Ministry spokesman said he could not say precisely when negotiations might resume.
GM, which is now more than 60-percent held by the US government on the heels of its bankruptcy, did not comment at the weekend on what the next steps would be.
GM is believed to favor RHJ as more attractive and easier to implement. Germany, however, has an interest in Magna’s bid because it appears to contain greater protections against job losses in Germany.
Both bidders want to cut about 10,000 jobs at Opel. In all 25,000 jobs would be at stake in Germany if Opel were to fold altogether.
Bringing its weight to bear, the German government is stumping up several billion euros in loans to sweeten the deal. In addition, about half of GM’s European employees work in Germany.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who hopes to unseat Merkel in Sept. 27 elections, said in a statement he had telephoned his US counterpart Hillary Clinton to press Berlin’s case.
Steinmeier “emphasized that after several months of intensive negotiations, the time had now come for a decision,” a statement issued by the foreign ministry said.
“The workers at Opel deserve clarity and a credible prospect for the future,” the statement said.
He called for a decision “as quickly as possible that safeguards the future of all Opel factories and as many jobs in Germany as possible.”
Press reports said Germany was prepared to offer a 4.5 billion euro (US$6.4 billion) loan to Magna in an attempt to persuade GM to choose the Canadian-led offer.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS