Volkswagen chief executive officer Martin Winterkorn will visit Malaysia in the next few weeks to conclude a deal between the German automotive giant and state-owned carmaker Proton, a report said yesterday.
The trip "should be to finalize a deal between Volkswagen and the [Malaysian] government with regards to Proton Holdings Bhd," the Edge business weekly newspaper said.
Malaysian officials could not be reached for comment.
SETTLING `QUESTIONS'
The visit by the Volkswagen chief executive officer "should settle a lot of questions that have plagued the negotiations," the paper said.
A Malaysian official said earlier this month that Volkswagen was keen to take a 20 percent stake in the loss-making national carmaker amid reports talks would soon secure a partnership.
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had confirmed talks were ongoing but said there was no formal request from Volkswagen for a stake in Proton.
Malaysia had already expressed optimism about securing a partnership with Volkswagen.
STRATEGIC PACT
Abdullah said that Volkswagen was studying Proton for a possible strategic pact that would help save Malaysia's national carmaker.
For Proton, a deal is expected to boost efforts to reclaim the top spot in Malaysia's domestic car market and help it get a foothold in the lucrative European market.
Proton needs foreign technical expertise to halt a sharp decline in market share and stem a stream of red ink, including a 46.75 million ringgit (US$13.40 million) loss for the first quarter to June.
Volkswagen hopes to bolster its presence in the Southeast Asian region with the partnership.
Malaysia hopes that the deal will be wrapped up by the end of the year.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official yesterday said that a delegation that visited China for an APEC meeting did not receive any kind of treatment that downgraded Taiwan’s sovereignty. Department of International Organizations Director-General Jonathan Sun (孫儉元) said that he and a group of ministry officials visited Shenzhen, China, to attend the APEC Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting last month. The trip went “smoothly and safely” for all Taiwanese delegates, as the Chinese side arranged the trip in accordance with long-standing practices, Sun said at the ministry’s weekly briefing. The Taiwanese group did not encounter any political suppression, he said. Sun made the remarks when
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
BROAD AGREEMENT: The two are nearing a trade deal to reduce Taiwan’s tariff to 15% and a commitment for TSMC to build five more fabs, a ‘New York Times’ report said Taiwan and the US have reached a broad consensus on a trade deal, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said yesterday, after a report said that Washington is set to reduce Taiwan’s tariff rate to 15 percent. The New York Times on Monday reported that the two nations are nearing a trade deal to reduce Taiwan’s tariff rate to 15 percent and commit Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to building at least five more facilities in the US. “The agreement, which has been under negotiation for months, is being legally scrubbed and could be announced this month,” the paper said,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
RSS