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国最大的汽车生产商对今年秋天可能收购通用汽车公司(General Motors Co.)部分股权的兴趣给美国政府提出了一个充满不确定性的问题，这个问题涉及外国对这家底特律公司的投资。据知情人士说，上海汽车集团股份有限公司(SAIC Motor Corp.)尚未决定是否参与通用汽车的首次公开募股(IPO)，但它表达了参与的兴趣。上汽从上世纪90年代以来就与通用汽车在华共同生产汽车。
通用汽车拒绝就上汽置评。这家中国汽车生产商只是说，它正密切关注通用汽车的IPO。路透社(Reuters)最初对上汽的兴趣予以了报导。
外国投资者在通用汽车IPO中购买其股份一事对美国政府来说是个棘手的问题，它正急于出手所持该公司61%的股权。
美国财政部可能会找到大型机构投资者，以固定价格购买通用汽车的大量股票。这类基础投资者通常来说承诺持有他们的股票，以此作为信心的体现，而这将有助于吸引其他投资者。作为交换，基础投资者有时会以优惠条件获得与股票相关的交易。据一名知情者说，一些美国投资者已经表达了收购通用汽车部分股权的兴趣，其中包括潜在的基础投资者。
Reuters
通用汽车CEO阿克森
不过财政部也担心，在美国纳税人花费500亿美元帮助通用车进行破产重组后，如果允许非美国投资者，譬如主权财富基金或是一家中国公司在通用汽车持有相当比例的股权，这可能会激起政治上的反应。
晨星公司(Morningstar)汽车业股票分析师威斯顿(David Whiston)说，批评人士将公开严厉指责奥巴马政府利用纳税人的钱为外国投资者持有一家标志性的美国公司提供资金。他说，但限制外国人在IPO中购买股票又将是不现实的，因为股票将公开发售。
的确，财政部上周说，所有投资者都可以购买通用汽车的股票。财政部正努力使股价达到最大值，同时建立一个稳固的股东基础。不过这份声明还说，没有任何一个投资者或是投资团体会得到比例失调的股份或是得到特殊对待。
通用汽车计划在11月2日中期选举后立刻为IPO定价，选在这个时间将使IPO不受大选政治的干扰。目标是在当月月底前进行发售。通用汽车首席执行长阿克森(Dan Akerson)上个星期说，美国政府可能需要数年时间才能卸掉它在该公司的全部持股。
于9月1日接任首席执行长的阿克森在IPO的问题上要比其前任惠塔克(Edward E. Whitacre Jr.)更加务实，后者推动财政部在尽可能短的时间内卸掉尽可能多的通用汽车股份。相比之下，阿克森上周承认了财政部得到尽可能满意的股价的重要性，即便这意味着政府将在一段时间内继续持有部分股份。
中国目前已是世界上最大的汽车市场，它是通用汽车重要的增长来源。
该公司8月份在华销量较上年同期增长19%，与此同时它在欧美市场却是身处困境。通用汽车与上汽的合作关系对于这家美国汽车生产商在中国的成功有着至关重要的作用，并且可能会继续扮演重要角色。
这类合资企业对于接触其他快速增长的新兴市场来说也提供了一个重要平台。比如，通用汽车和上汽正联手扩大在印度的业务。
Sharon Terlep
（更新完成）
（本文版权归道琼斯公司所有，未经许可不得翻译或转载。）
Interest by China's biggest auto maker in possibly buying a stake in General Motors Co. this fall raises the dicey issue for the U.S. government over foreign investment in the Detroit company.
SAIC Motor Corp., which has built cars with GM in China since the 1990s, hasn't decided whether to participate in GM's initial public offering but has expressed an interest in doing so, people familiar with the matter said.
GM declined to comment about SAIC. The Chinese auto maker said only that it is closely watching the GM offering. SAIC's interest was first reported by Reuters news service.
The issue of foreign investors buying GM shares in the company's IPO is a thorny one for the U.S. government, which is eager to unload its 61% stake in the auto maker.
The Treasury is likely to seek out large institutional investors to buy blocks of GM stock at a set price. Such 'cornerstone' investors typically commit to holding their stock as a show of confidence, which can help draw other investors. In exchange, cornerstone investors sometimes get a favorable deal on the shares. Several U.S. investors have expressed an interest in buying a stake in GM, including potential cornerstone investors, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The larger the group of cornerstone investors, the easier it would be for the Treasury to sell a big chunk of its GM stake in the IPO. GM and the banks underwriting the deal are pushing for the biggest possible investor pool to increase the size of the offering. The IPO will likely involve shares held by the Treasury, a union-managed retiree trust fund and Canadian governments.
But the Treasury also is worried about the political reaction if non-U.S. investors, such as sovereign-wealth funds or a Chinese company, are allowed to acquire a significant stake in GM after U.S. taxpayers spent $50 billion to assist the company through bankruptcy reorganization.
'Critics will publicly blast the Obama administration for using taxpayer money to fund foreign ownership in an American icon,' said Morningstar automotive equities analyst David Whiston. Yet restricting foreigners from buying stock in the IPO would be impractical since the shares would be available on the public market, he said.
Indeed, the Treasury, in an effort to maximize the share price and establish a solid shareholder base, said last week that all investors will have access to GM shares. The statement also said, however, that no single investor or group of investors would receive 'a disproportionate share or unusual treatment.'
GM plans to begin pitching the IPO to investors immediately after the Nov. 2 midterm elections, which could keep the IPO separate from campaign politics. The goal is to conduct the offering before the end of the month. GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson said last week that it will likely take years for the U.S. government to unload its entire stake.
Mr. Akerson, who took over as CEO Sept. 1, has been more pragmatic about the IPO than was his predecessor Edward E. Whitacre Jr., who pushed the Treasury to unload as many shares as possible as quickly as possible. In contrast, Mr. Akerson last week acknowledged the importance of Treasury getting the best possible share price, even if means the government continues to hold some shares for some time.
China's auto market, the world's biggest, is a key source of strength for GM.
The auto maker's sales in China rose 19% in August from a year earlier while the U.S. and European markets struggled. The auto maker's partnership with SAIC has been central to GM's success in China and is expected to continue to play a major role.
Such joint ventures also are an important platform to reaching other fast-growing, emerging markets. GM and SAIC are teaming to expand in India, for example.
Sharon Terlep
SAIC Motor Corp., which has built cars with GM in China since the 1990s, hasn't decided whether to participate in GM's initial public offering but has expressed an interest in doing so, people familiar with the matter said.
GM declined to comment about SAIC. The Chinese auto maker said only that it is closely watching the GM offering. SAIC's interest was first reported by Reuters news service.
The issue of foreign investors buying GM shares in the company's IPO is a thorny one for the U.S. government, which is eager to unload its 61% stake in the auto maker.
The Treasury is likely to seek out large institutional investors to buy blocks of GM stock at a set price. Such 'cornerstone' investors typically commit to holding their stock as a show of confidence, which can help draw other investors. In exchange, cornerstone investors sometimes get a favorable deal on the shares. Several U.S. investors have expressed an interest in buying a stake in GM, including potential cornerstone investors, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The larger the group of cornerstone investors, the easier it would be for the Treasury to sell a big chunk of its GM stake in the IPO. GM and the banks underwriting the deal are pushing for the biggest possible investor pool to increase the size of the offering. The IPO will likely involve shares held by the Treasury, a union-managed retiree trust fund and Canadian governments.
But the Treasury also is worried about the political reaction if non-U.S. investors, such as sovereign-wealth funds or a Chinese company, are allowed to acquire a significant stake in GM after U.S. taxpayers spent $50 billion to assist the company through bankruptcy reorganization.
'Critics will publicly blast the Obama administration for using taxpayer money to fund foreign ownership in an American icon,' said Morningstar automotive equities analyst David Whiston. Yet restricting foreigners from buying stock in the IPO would be impractical since the shares would be available on the public market, he said.
Indeed, the Treasury, in an effort to maximize the share price and establish a solid shareholder base, said last week that all investors will have access to GM shares. The statement also said, however, that no single investor or group of investors would receive 'a disproportionate share or unusual treatment.'
GM plans to begin pitching the IPO to investors immediately after the Nov. 2 midterm elections, which could keep the IPO separate from campaign politics. The goal is to conduct the offering before the end of the month. GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson said last week that it will likely take years for the U.S. government to unload its entire stake.
Mr. Akerson, who took over as CEO Sept. 1, has been more pragmatic about the IPO than was his predecessor Edward E. Whitacre Jr., who pushed the Treasury to unload as many shares as possible as quickly as possible. In contrast, Mr. Akerson last week acknowledged the importance of Treasury getting the best possible share price, even if means the government continues to hold some shares for some time.
China's auto market, the world's biggest, is a key source of strength for GM.
The auto maker's sales in China rose 19% in August from a year earlier while the U.S. and European markets struggled. The auto maker's partnership with SAIC has been central to GM's success in China and is expected to continue to play a major role.
Such joint ventures also are an important platform to reaching other fast-growing, emerging markets. GM and SAIC are teaming to expand in India, for example.
Sharon Terlep
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