Seoul, May 12: US-German auto group DaimlerChrysler and its South Korean partner Hyundai Motor
will make an announcement today on the fate of their faltering partnership, company officials said.
The Wall Street Journal and South Korean media said the two sides would announce the breakup of their alliance but Hyundai vice chairman Kim Dong-Jin declined to confirm the reports. He said a joint announcement would be made in Seoul and Stuttgart at 1130 IST.
"I can only say here that both sides will make an announcement at 3:00 PM today (Korean time)," he said, after a board meeting.
DaimlerChrysler has already converted its 10.44 per cent stake in Hyundai into global depository receipts
(GDRs), which are used as a vehicle to sell shares in the international market.
Newspapers here have said DaimlerChrysler would sell the Hyundai stake through a block sale.
Hyundai has said it is ready to scrap ties with DaimlerChrysler even as it seeks to become one of the world's top five auto firms by 2010. DaimlerChrysler acquired its stake in the company in
2000 for 400 million dollars and forged a strategic alliance with Hyundai but the partnership has been undermined by a dispute over a truck joint venture and projects in China.
Bureau Report
