BAIC out of race for Opel

Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co (BAIC) was at last out of the race for General Motors Co's Opel unit, leaving the bidding process a two horse race between Magna International Inc. and Belgian holding company RHJ International SA.

GM's reason is simple. It does not want to sell its Opel brand to a Chinese carmaker to rival its profitable ventures with China's auto giant SAIC. BAIC's plans, including build a plant in China, run against with GM's interest in now the world's biggest auto market.

BAIC refuses to give up hope. It said a day later that it is willing to further discuss intellectual property rights with GM. "We still believe that BAIC is a very good partner for GM's development in China and we remain willing to take discussions on IPR arrangements a step further," BAIC Chairman Xu Heyi said.