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Dubai: General Motors is nowhere close to bank-ruptcy, a senior official has said.
Maureen Kempston Darkes, GM Group Vice President and President of the company's Latin America, Africa and Middle East section, also denied any share sale by its senior officials.
"GM is here to stay. Bankruptcy is not an option for GM. As a company, we are very stable," she told senior editors.
"No senior officials that I know of are selling shares. No, it's not true."
In July the company announced a liquidity plan to help it withstand the current financial crisis.
"We have a liquidity plan involving raising $15 billion (Dh55 billion) that will help us through the current crisis. Of this, $10 billion is to be managed from our own resources, the rest from a combined external sources," Darkes said.
She said the US car market is also facing difficult times which could force consolidation.
Darkes admitted that GM is in talks with other car manufacturers on a merger. "These are extraordinary times for the global economy which is going through a difficult time. As a major global player, we are also going through a very difficult time when the oil price has crossed $140 per barrel, impacting global transport.
"Yes, we are talking to other automakers all the time on opportunities.
"The problems with the current global financial crisis are more understood now than before. We could see the global leaders coming together to solve the problems. It's a global problem - not a country specific [one]."
However, GM has been doing well in the Gulf. It's position has risen to second from fifth, she said.
"Sales have nearly tripled to 150,000 units, with GM even taking the lead in the important full-size SUV sector, and market share has doubled to 14 per cent."
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