Sweden’s Enterprise Ministry has defended its actions in the wake of Saab’s failure to secure bankruptcy protection, but concedes it is worried about the impact on employment prospects should the automaker go under.
Saab CEO Victor Muller criticised the Swedish authorities for their lack of communication regarding the thwarted attempt by Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov to become an investor in the ailing company – despite being cleared by regulatory bodies.
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“He [Antonov] feels, rightly so I would say, extremely upset with the process,” said Muller. “He has been approved by the Swedish National Debt Office and since then total silence, both from the European Investment Bank and the Swedish government. It is extremely frustrating.”
Despite Muller’s complaint, the Swedish government has mounted a robust defence of its position regarding both Saab and the country’s automobile industry in general.
“The Swedish government has been very keen all along to do all we can to help Saab,” a spokeswoman for Swedish Enterprise Minister Maud Olofsson told just-auto from Stockholm. “We have met the [Chinese] National Development and Reform Commission in June when they visited Sweden and we have been helpful in the process of Saab selling its property.
“We have been in close contact with the company all along and guaranteed the loan that made it possible to survive in 2009. The government is very engaged and involved in the well-being of the Swedish automotive industry. We have been clear there are limits to what we can do – it is not for the Swedish government to buy Saab.”
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By GlobalDataThe spokeswoman added Olofsson had expressed concern surrounding Saab’s employees and suppliers who “continue to live in uncertainty.”
Responding to the Vladimir Antonov situation specifically, the spokeswoman told just-auto the government had met the Russian but that the matter was more for former Saab owner General Motors and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
“What needs to take place with Antonov is that the EIB and GM need to say yes because they are the ones who have been opponents to him before,” she said.
“The Swedish government has never said yes or no.”
