Ssangyong Motor resumes production

Shanghai, February 4 (Gasgoo.com) SsangYong Motor, a Korean unit of China's SAIC Motor Corp, announced that it restarted operation at its plants on Monday, said sina.com today.

Ssangyong said five assembly lines at its plants in Pyeongtaek and Changwon had resumed production as parts supplies normalized.

Ssangyong, which last month filed for court bankruptcy protection, had mostly halted operations at all of its plants since mid-January, citing a shortage of parts.

Component suppliers to SsangYong stopped providing parts to the carmarker as they were worried about whether they would be paid after the automaker began bankruptcy protection proceedings. Many of these companies have not been paid for many months.

Ssangyong, the smallest of South Korea's five auto makers, has been struggling with falling sales and liquidity shortages. Seoul's local court will decide whether to let Ssangyong enter protection proceedings not later than Feb. 9.

Ssangyong would restructure under court supervision if approved to come into bankruptcy protection and would operate independently when it gets out of trouble. If not approved, the carmaker is likely to declare bankruptcy.