General Motors chief executive Fritz Henderson said today that it was possible a deal on the sale of a majority stake in Opel, its European carmaking arm, could come this week.
"It's quite possible to see documents signed this week," Mr Henderson said.
The comments followed a statement by Opel labour leader Klaus Franz on yesterday that he expected GM to sign a contract this week to sell a 55 per cent stake in Opel to a consortium including Canada's Magna and Russia's Sberbank.
The two companies have vowed to inject €500 million into Opel, aiming to use it to make an aggressive push into the Russian market, and plan to cut about 10,500 European jobs.
Mr Henderson also told a news conference in Shanghai that it was not on his agenda during his trip to China to talk to Chinese regulators about a deal to sell GM's Hummer brand to Chinese machinery maker Tengzhong.
GM finalised a deal with Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery last Friday on the sale of its Hummer business, although the deal still faces a number of hurdles including regulatory approvals.
Mr Henderson was also upbeat on the prospects for the Chinese auto market, forecasting it to continue to grow at a significant pace in the future.
GM said last week that its China vehicle sales surged 55.6 per cent in the first nine months of this year from year-earlier levels, surpassing forecasts.
Reuters