Three new bidders, but time is nearly up for Daewoo FSO

Deputy Economy Minister Jacek Piechota has failed to reveal the list of companies interested in investing in Daewoo FSO, despite being supposed to do so by the end of May, although according to Parkiet there are at least three companies that want to invest in the factory. The three being: the Japanese concern Daihatsu, controlled by Toyota, the Austrian trucks producer Magna Steyer and the Ukrainian ZAZ. However, the head of the Daewoo FSO’s supervisory board, Wojciech Jończyk, refused to comment on the news. Parkiet sources claim that any decision regarding which firm will ultimately take control of the plant may take several months. For Daewoo FSO, though, time is not plentiful, as it needs to start the production of new vehicles by 2006. If a final decision is not made by September, it is very likely that the company will have to shut up shop altogether, as it takes well over a year to regear plant for the assembly and production of a new car model. (Parkiet, p. 1) A.F.