Hawtai may begin cooperating with Proton to enter Southeast Asia

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai August 16) - Following collapse of its negotiations with Saab, news of Hawtai Automobile officials meeting with Malaysian-based Proton have begun being revealed, Economic Observer News reported today. According to inside sources, both parties have agreed to preliminary cooperation, however negotiations are currently in very early stages.

Reportedly, representatives from Proton have made many trips to China to meet officials led by Hawtai CEO Hou Haijing at the Shandong-based manufacturer's Beijing office. It is unclear what steps both companies are willing to take, as talks are still in very preliminary phases. 

Hawtai has already announced that it is talking with a 'foreign manufacturer' regarding a joint venture. When asked point blank whether or not they were planning to cooperate with Hawtai, a company spokesman dodged the question, saying only that "Proton has had its eyes on the rapidly developing Chinese market for a long time now" and that "Hawtai needs to expand in Indonesia and other ASEAN markets." The governments of countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia have been encouraging manufacturers to open knockdown assembly factories.