SAIC Planning to Buy GM IPO Shares

The GM initial public offering (IPO) is causing quite an interest in China, where the American manufacturer's strongest partner, SAIC, is currently weighing its options and is considering whether to buy GM shares.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Chairman Hu Maoyuan said that purchasing some GM shares would be a good thing for the Chinese manufacturer, provided the conditions are right. According to the executive, as soon as the details of GM's offering are available, a decision will be made.

“GM is our important strategic partner,” Hu told Bloomberg. “We are not clear about the details of its IPO. We will make the right decision once we know details.”

With the IPO, GM is planning to raise between $15 billion to $20 billion, making its offering second only to the one made by Visa in 2008 (which was worth $19.7 billion). The plan is to sell a fifth of the Treasury’s 304 million shares, bringing US' stake in GM below 50 percent. The IPO will likely be open to foreign buyers as well, although the emphasis will be on “North American investors.“

“SAIC is closely watching the progress of a GM IPO,” Judy Zhu, a SAIC spokeswoman told Autonews. “As a strategic partner of GM, SAIC wishes the success of the GM IPO.”

Such an outcome will do nothing but strengthen the already solid relationship between the two manufacturers. Enjoying quite a good time in China, the SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW) joint venture announced in July the creation of a new new passenger vehicles brand in China.

In addition, the two will manufacture a new small-displacement gasoline engine family and an advanced transmission in Detroit and at the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC).