Banks worried about negotiations over Dawoo-FSO

Another round of talks regarding the ailing auto manufacturer Daewoo-FSO is currently under way in Warsaw. The talks, between the Finance and Economy Ministries and Korean Daewoo-Motor, are expected to be the final negotiations on the enterprise. An agreement regarding the future of Daewoo-FSO is expected to be reached by May 27, said Deputy Economy Minister Maciej Lesny. He added that Polish creditor banks, which have loaned Daewoo-FSO almost zl. 600 million, were unable to make any decisions and have asked for the negotiations' deadline to be postponed. In total the company owes zl. 1.2 billion to Polish and Korean banks, and zl. 3 billion to Daewoo's Korean headquarters. "If we do not reach a consensus, the plant will be closed on June 7," warned Lesny. If a compromise is reached, a new investor would be introduced and Daewoo car production would resume for another two years, while a new production line for the investor's cars would also be built. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 23; Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 3; Zycie, p. 9) M.T.K.