Car Industry's Search For Funds Goes Global
汽车业求援之手伸向全球
The auto industry crisis that started in Detroit is rapidly expanding into a global problem, pressuring governments around the world to join the U.S. in providing aid to struggling auto makers.
始于底特律的汽车业危机正在迅速演变为全球性问题，迫使各国政府和美国一起向陷入困境的汽车制造商伸出援手。
On Tuesday, Toyota Motor Corp. appealed to the Japanese government for a $2 billion loan for its finance arm. At the same time, General Motors Corp. warned its European operations could run out of money as soon as April or May if Germany and other European countries don't grant its requests for help.
周二，丰田汽车(Toyota Motor Corp.)请求日本政府向其金融子公司提供20亿美元贷款。与此同时，通用汽车(General Motors Corp.)警告说，如果德国和其它欧洲国家无视其求援的请求，该公司的欧洲业务最早可能在4、5月份耗尽资金。
GM also said it is now willing to consider selling a majority stake in its Opel unit, the core of its European business, in order to secure governmental aid.
通用汽车还称，现在愿意考虑出售欧宝(Opel)子公司的多数股份，以获取政府救助。欧宝是通用汽车在欧洲的核心业务。
At the Geneva auto show, GM Chief Operating Officer Frederick 'Fritz' Henderson said the company's European business could be out of money by 'the first half of the second quarter' if it doesn't get loans or other financial assistance.
通用汽车首席营运长弗雷德里克?汉德森(Frederick Henderson)在日内瓦汽车展上说，如果不能获得贷款或其它金融援助，通用汽车的欧洲业务可能会在5月中旬前耗尽资金。
He added GM is 'open to ideas and opinions,' including the sale of a significant majority stake in Germany-based Opel if that would help clear the way for aid.
他说，通用汽车对所有想法和意见持开放态度，其中包括出售欧宝的大多数股份，如果这能为获得救援扫清障碍的话。
So far the U.S. has agreed to provide at least $42 billion in loans and other financial help to GM, Ford Motor Co., Chrysler LLC and their suppliers. Canada has agreed to provide additional help to the Big Three, and France is offering aid to French car makers Renault SA and PSA Peugeot Citroen SA.
迄今为止，美国已同意向通用汽车、福特汽车(Ford Motor Co.)、克莱斯勒(Chrysler LLC)和它们的供应商提供至少420亿美元贷款和其它经济援助。加拿大已同意向美国汽车三巨头提供额外的救助，法国也向该国汽车制造商雷诺公司 (Renault SA)和标致雪铁龙(PSA Peugeot Citroen SA)提供了援助。
GM has gotten an agreement to have Spain guarantee 200 million euros in loans, and has sought help from Germany, Britain and Sweden -- all nations where it has plants. In Geneva, GM's top European executive, Carl-Peter Forster, said the company may also appeal to Poland, where it makes small cars.
通用汽车已经就西班牙为2亿欧元贷款提供担保的事宜达成了协议，并已向德国、英国和瑞典寻求救助。通用汽车在这些国家都设有汽车生产厂。在日内瓦，通用汽车欧洲业务高级管理人员福斯特(Carl-Peter Forster)说，公司可能还会向生产小型轿车的波兰求援。
Toyota requested aid from Japan after the Tokyo government said it will lend some of its foreign-exchange reserves to Japanese firms that operate overseas and are struggling to raise foreign-currency funds. Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said the government plans to lend $5 billion of its $1 trillion reserves -- the second-largest reserves in the world after China's -- to the Japan Bank for International Cooperation by the end of March, so the bank can make dollar loans to cash-starved companies.
在日本政府表示将向拥有大量海外业务又难以获得外汇资金的日本企业用部分外汇储备提供贷款后，丰田汽车提出了申请。日本财务大臣与谢野馨(Kaoru Yosano)说，政府计划3月底前从1万亿美元的外汇储备中拿出50亿美元贷给日本国际协力银行(Japan Bank For International Cooperation)，使该行可以向现金匮乏的企业提供美元贷款。日本的外汇储备总额位居世界第二，仅次于中国。
Toyota, which lost $1.8 billion in the quarter ending Dec. 31, is seeking a loan for Toyota Financial Services Corp., which oversees the auto maker's financial operations at home and abroad.
丰田汽车在截至12月31日的季度中亏损了18亿美元。目前该公司正在为丰田金融服务公司(Toyota Financial Services Corp.)寻求贷款。后者负责丰田汽车在国内外的金融业务。
GM Europe needs a $4.2 billion injection by mid-April or it will run out of cash and potentially be forced to cease operations despite its massive presence in the European market, according to people familiar with the company's cash position.
据了解通用汽车现金头寸的知情人士说，通用汽车欧洲业务需要在4月中旬前获得42亿美元的注资，否则将会耗尽现金，并可能被迫停止运营，尽管通用汽车在欧洲市场的业务规模很大。
The auto maker accelerated negotiations with the German government this week, saying it needs that country to provide two-thirds of the European loans. GM's biggest operation in Europe, Opel, is based in Germany, and the company employs tens of thousands of factory workers, engineers and workers at dealers in the region.
通用汽车本周加快了同德国政府的谈判节奏，称要求德国提供欧洲业务所需贷款的三分之二。通用汽车在欧洲最大的子公司欧宝位于德国，在当地聘用了数万名工厂工人、工程师和经销店的工作人员。
Mr. Henderson said the company doesn't have a solid backup plan for its European operation. Unlike its unit in the U.S., which could be put into bankruptcy court protection, the European business is woven throughout countries in Western and Eastern Europe, making a bankruptcy scenario almost impossible to pull off, he said. Mr. Henderson plans to meet with German officials this week.
汉德森说，通用汽车对欧洲业务并没有明确的支持计划。他说，通用汽车的美国子公司还可以选择破产保护，而与此不同的是，欧洲业务在东西欧地区交织在一起，使破产几乎不可能实现。汉德森计划本周会见德国官员。
German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg told Reuters on Tuesday that Opel hasn't supplied enough information for the government to decide whether to rescue the company.
德国经济部长古腾贝格(Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg)周二向路透社(Reuters)表示，欧宝尚未向政府提供足够的信息，让政府就是否救助这家公司作出决定。
If GM Europe fails, it threatens to spoil the company's viability plan, which was recently filed with the U.S. Treasury in order to meet requirements of federal aid. In it, GM said that $6 billion in aid from governments outside the U.S. is needed to make the company viable.
如果通用汽车欧洲业务破产，它将威胁到公司的复苏计划。不久前通用汽车刚刚向美国财政部提交了这份计划，以满足政府提供救助的要求。通用汽车在计划中说，为了公司的生存，美国以外的其它政府需要提供60亿美元资金。
Separately on Tuesday, advisers for major GM bondholders said they plan to meet with President Barack Obama's auto task force on Thursday afternoon to discuss whether the U.S. government would guarantee new bonds the company would issue as part of its restructuring, according to a person familiar with the meeting.
另外，据知情人士透露，通用汽车主要债券持有者的顾问周二说，他们计划周四下午会见奥巴马总统的汽车业专责小组，讨论美国政府是否会为通用汽车新发行的债券提供担保。此次债券发行是通用汽车重组努力的组成部分。
John D. Stoll / Takashi Nakamichi
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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