Details of the deal are expected to be unveiled on Sunday, when a briefing will be held here by SAIC and the GM China Group. SAIC's move has been hailed by industry analysts as a bold attempt by domestic automakers to expand abroad after China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) last December.

SAIC will pour about US$59.7 million into the stake, according to local reports, though company officials refuse to comment on the investment at the moment.

Such a move echoes the company's ambition to eventually become one the of the world's auto giants in the coming several decades, analysts said.

The planned acquisition also follows General Motors' announcement in April that it will lead its partners in the establishment of GM-Daewoo, which is expected to own and operate selected assets and businesses of bankrupt Daewoo.

GM is supposed to invest US$251 million for a 42.1 percent stake in the new company while its business partners share a 24.9 percent stake and Daewoo's creditors will hold the remaining 33 percent equity interest.

Regarding market rumours that GM is interested in the manufacturing of a Daewoo model in China after its takeover of the South Korean company, GM China officials remain tight-lipped.

"Daewoo models mean more choices for us in tapping the local market, but it's now too early to say whether some Daewoo model will be built here as we are still studying various possibilities," said Daphne Zheng, spokeswoman for GM China.

Industry analysts, nevertheless, say SAIC's move will make it easier for it to team up with GM to take over Daewoo's two joint ventures in East China's Shandong Province, involving a total investment of more than 7 billion yuan (US$846 million), and turn them into GM's other manufacturing base for passenger vehicles to better tap the Chinese auto market.

With the alliance of SAIC, GM has already set up two joint ventures in China, including the US$1.5 billion Shanghai General Motors and another mini-vehicle firm in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Its third joint venture, the US$230 million Jinbei GM, is located in Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning Province.

Yale Zhang, senior analyst of Automotive Resources Asia Ltd, voiced his opinions on SAIC's acquisition of GM-Daewoo's shares. "That is of course not a big stake, but what really matters is that it signals Chinese automakers have taken a significant first step towards a bigger role in the global market," he said.

(China Daily October 11, 2002)