Ssangyong works out revised turnaround plan

SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Yonhap) -- Troubled Ssangyong Motor Co. has mapped out a revised
turnaround plan reflecting demands from its foreign bondholders, a company
official said Tuesday.

On Nov. 6, the Seoul Central District Court delayed its decision on whether to
approve a turnaround plan by the cash-strapped carmaker because a majority of
foreign bondholders voted against it. The court decided to convene a meeting Dec.
11 with the stakeholders of Ssangyong to vote again on a revised turnaround plan.

"We've made a new turnaround plan that accepted some of the foreign bondholders'
demands and conveyed it to them," the official said.
But the new plan is not a big change from the previous one, as the carmaker still
has to consider balancing foreign and local creditors, as well as its payment
capabilities, the official said.
Under the previous plan, Ssangyong, majority-owned by China's Shanghai Automotive
Industry Corp., planned to cut the Chinese parent's holding to 11.2 percent from
51 percent and repay its 1.23 trillion won (US$1.04 billion) in debt over the
next 10 years.
The plan also called for the smallest carmaker in South Korea to write off some
of its debts.
Ssangyong became the first major corporate victim of the global economic crisis
in South Korea as the slump hit sales of new cars last year.
But some critics have accused Shanghai Automotive of failing to live up to its
investment plan and "stealing" technology from Ssangyong, which specializes in
sport-utility vehicles.
Ssangyong's woes deepened over the summer, as hundreds of dismissed workers
occupied the company's only plant for more than two months to protest massive
layoffs. As part of the turnaround plan, Ssangyong slashed about 30 percent of
its workforce, or 2,130 jobs.
If the court approves a turnaround plan, Ssangyong's court-appointed managers say
they will sell most of Shanghai Motor's stakes to other foreign investors.
But many analysts say Ssangyong has a long way to go to revive its business
because of its line-up of gas-guzzlers and its tattered image from the strike.
In the first half of this year, Ssangyong's net loss reached 443 billion won.
Sales also plunged 66 percent to 455 billion won, with operating losses totaling
153 billion won.
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