Russia’s Sberbank insists on technology transfers with Opel sale
September 19th, 2009 - 6:59 pm ICT by IANSMoscow, Sep 19 (DPA) Sberbank, one of the members of a consortium set to buy carmaker Opel, said the transfer of the company’s technological know-how to Russia is a non-negotiable part of the deal, the Interfax news agency reported Saturday.
“If the import of technologies doesn’t take place, then we will have just wasted our time,” said German Gref, the head of the Russian bank, at an economic forum in the Russian city of Sochi.
Access to the technology was one of the main reasons Sberbank decided to take part in the purchase of the German carmaker from its US parent, General Motors (GM).
But GM has so far expressed scepticism about letting too much of its technological investment in Opel find its way to Russia.
GM announced Sep 10 that it would sell a majority stake in Opel to the Canadian-Austrian auto parts group Magna International. Sberbank is a partner in the deal.
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- Opel decision only before Frankfurt auto show - Aug 26, 2009
- GM board reluctant to sell Opel to Canada's Magna - Aug 25, 2009
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Tags: auto parts, consortium, economic forum, general motors, german carmaker, gm, interfax news agency, magna international, majority stake, moscow, opel, russia, russian bank, russian city, sberbank, scepticism, sochi, technological investment, technology transfers