Daewoo-Invested Businesses in China's Guilin Unaffected

With financing from Daewoo Motor Co. of the Republic of Korea (ROK), two businesses in Guilin, one of China's most popular tourist destinations, have remained unaffected, although the ROK's second largest automaker declared bankruptcy early this month.

Guilin Daewoo Bus Co. Ltd. is a joint venture founded in 1994 by Guilin Bus Factory and Daewoo of ROK, with the ROK investor taking up 51 percent of the stake. The joint venture mainly produces large luxury buses and medium-sized tourist buses.

According to a corporate executive, the Chinese partner of the Guilin Daewoo Bus Co. Ltd is now fully capable of producing, installing, marketing and repairing buses independently.

In the first 10 months of the year, the joint venture turned out 1,565 buses which sold like hot cakes. Recently, the 10,000th bus made by the joint venture rolled off the production line and was driven out of the factory soon thereafter.

An executive manager with Guilin Daewoo Grand Hotel, a five-star hotel with investment from Daewoo, also said his venture is not affected by the bankruptcy of the parent ROK company.