Chinese 'close' to Rover deal

THE Chinese car company that held takeover talks with MG Rover in the weeks before the Birmingham group went bust last month is offering to save up to 1,500 jobs at Longbridge.

Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) is believed to be close to signing a deal which will give the company access to technology and people who work in research and development. An offer is likely to be put to PricewaterhouseCoopers, Rover's administrators, in the next few days.

Protracted attemtps to get SAIC interested in buying Rover before the company's collapse stopped only when the Chinese group's advisers loudly ruled out the prospect of any bid. PWC has since received dozens of expressions of interest for parts of Rover, some more serious than others.

Reports last week suggested that two Russian businessmen were interested in bidding for MG Rover. And the Iranian Government was also rumoured to be interested in making a bid, in the hope that the British Government would take a softer line towards its nuclear aspirations. But these discussions came to nothing when the Iranians disclosed that they were not interested in making an offer.