Daewoo bankrupt in Korea but Polish plants can go on

The creditors of Daewoo Motor have filed for bankruptcy of the South Korean car maker, but this should not negatively affect the Polish subsidiaries of Daewoo in the near future. Daewoo-FSO is to resume production on November 20, following a three-week stoppage. "We are not experiencing any problems with payments. Some 13,000-16,000 cars are waiting outside the factory or in dealerships. We have enough parts to produce a further 20,000 cars and new shipments of parts are already on the way from Korea," said Daewoo spokeswoman Krystyna Danilczyk. The bankruptcy does not necessarily mean the end of Daewoo in Korea either. The company, which is over $15 billion in debt, cannot take any new loans, but if it manages to obtain sufficient cash flows from car sales, it should be able to stay afloat. According to Korean analysts, in order to do that it would have to maintain a 22% share in the Korean market. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 19 )