Still No Takers For Proton As Government Hints Of 'Plan B'.

Whether there is actually a 'Plan B' or it is merely a face-saving ploy is not clear. After Volkswagen shied away from having any dealings with the trouble-plagued national automaker, Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop still put on a brave face on the turmoil within and without Proton and the prolonged and embarrassing inability to find a 'suitable' partner. Either we are poor matchmakers or the 'wang hantaran' expected is not worth the effort. Add to that the burden of complying with provisions of the Never Ending Policy as well as the nuisance of politically motivated government and third-party interference as we have seen happen with MAS and other such entities. The full NST report follows.

The government has set a new deadline to name the foreign partner for Proton Holdings Bhd within the next three months after Germany’s Volkswagen AG backed out from becoming an equity partner.

Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said today the government would want to resolve problems in Proton before proceeding with its “Plan B” to find a foreign suitor for the national carmaker. “We will decide on the partner for Proton within the next three months,” he said. The government had missed its self-imposed March 31 deadline to name the strategic partner for Proton.

Nor Mohamed said since Volkswagen “has no more equity interest”, the government would look for others who were interested. “We look forward to see those who are interested,” he said. He, however, declined to comment on whether the government had engaged in talks with prospective parties for Proton’s partner.

Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the Malaysian government investment arm, owns around 43 per cent of Proton.

Proton incurred a full-year pre-tax loss of RM619.9 million for its financial year year ended March 31, 2007, reflecting the challenging operating environment.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said yesterday that Volkswagen AG was not keen on Proton’s proposal in terms of equity participation but would rather engage in some other form of cooperation with Proton.

He added that in view of this, Proton needed to initiate talks with other parties for a strategic tie-up.

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