Court to decide fate of Ssangyong Motor next week

(ATTN: CHANGES lead; UPDATES with creditors voting against turnaround plan; TRIMS)
SEOUL, Dec. 11 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean court said Friday it will decide the
fate of Ssangyong Motor Co. next week, after the ailing carmaker failed to win
the support of creditors to push forward with its turnaround plan.
The court announcement came minutes after the creditors of Ssangyong, which has
been under court-approved bankruptcy protection since February, voted against a
fresh turnaround plan submitted by the debt-ridden automaker.
The rejection by the creditors was widely expected, as foreign bondholders
objected to the size of capital writedown proposed by Ssangyong.
With the new turnaround plan failing to win the support of two-thirds of
Ssangyong's creditors at the Friday meeting, officials at the Seoul court said
they will make a final decision on Thursday on whether to approve the plan or
liquidate the carmaker.
Under the original plan, Ssangyong, majority owned by China's Shanghai Automotive
Industry Corp., would cut the Chinese parent's holdings to 11.2 percent from 51
percent and repay its 1.23 trillion won (US$1.05 billion) in debt over the next
10 years. It also called for Ssangyong to write down its debts at a ratio of
three to one.
Ssangyong became the nation's first major corporate victim of the global economic
crisis as the slump hit new car sales last year.
Critics have accused Shanghai Automotive of failing to live up to its investment
plan and of stealing technology from Ssangyong, which specializes in
sport-utility vehicles.
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