Lotus Cars gets £270m bankroll from six financial institutions

Lotus Cars gets £270m bankroll from six financial institutionsLooks like Lotus Cars Limited’s five-year business plan is on. The wholly-owned subsidiary of Proton Holdings today signed an agreement for facilities amounting to £270 million (RM1.33 billion), extended by a syndicate of six financial institutions.

The six financial institutions acting as lenders are CIMB Bank, Malayan Banking, Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation, Export-Import Bank of Malaysia, Affin Bank and EON Bank.

The agreement was inked at the Proton Centre of Excellence Complex in Shah Alam by Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar on behalf of Lotus Cars Limited, while signing on behalf of their respective banks were Datuk Seri Nazir Tun Razak, group chief executive of CIMB Group; Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar, president and CEO of Maybank; Tuan Syed Abdull Aziz Jailani Syed Kechik, CEO and director of OCBC; Adissadikin Ali, CEO of EXIM Bank; Datuk Zulkiflee Abbas Abdul Hamid, CEO of Affin Bank and Peter TC Chow, head of group business & investment banking and principal officer of EON Bank.

The loan syndication forms part of the funding required to execute Lotus’ five-year business plan. With the conclusion of the syndication exercise, the external portion of the funding is now in place and, together with other financial resources, this means that Lotus has successfully raised the required funding to realise the future plans.

“On behalf of Group Lotus, I would like to express our sincere appreciation to CIMB Group, Malayan Banking Berhad, Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation Limited, Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Berhad, Affin Bank Berhad and EON Bank Berhad for their support and, above all, confidence in our future plans,” Bahar said.

“With the help of this external financing, we look forward to introducing our exciting new models to the world, which will complement our current product range. I am confident that the execution of our business plan will mark the return of the iconic Lotus brand into the elite ranks of the world’s premium sportscar manufacturers and generate greater profitability and long-term financial sustainability for the company and its stakeholders,” he added.

“I would like to thank our shareholders, Proton, for the unwavering support and confidence in Lotus. I believe Lotus has a lot to offer to Proton moving forward. As the future plans bear fruit, I am confident that Proton will benefit in terms of branding, product development, and sales and marketing,” Bahar concluded.

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Anthony Lim

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

 

Comments

  • go bahar on Apr 15, 2011 at 7:58 pm

    well down Bahar.. now time to deliver to the world.. glad Proton pick Bahar as CEO, he will succeed.

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  • niceone on Apr 15, 2011 at 8:22 pm

    Best of luck Lotus!!

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  • niceone on Apr 15, 2011 at 8:25 pm

    i think proton / gov bashers will comment on this page, claiming the rm1.3billion is their money. You heard it here first :)

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    • they will said..their money coz their bank account at maybank, affin, eon, cimb, ocbc and exim bank…lol

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      • if malaysian still said thats their money..i want to laugh to them bcoz i buy pirated DVD from maybank from their money..haha…..n some other people use ur money to buy pelacur haha..i cannot stop laughing

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      • MoFaz on Apr 16, 2011 at 9:06 pm

        Proton has money, they get 2bil from last year sales. but Proton wouldn’t give it to Lotus because Proton also need money for various product development within Proton itself. new engine, persona replacement, emas, and hybrid would cost more than 500mil each to develop. so they take external funding for Lotus projects. Lotus involvement in F1 is now showing positive result. very good ‘investment’ to bring Lotus name back to its glorious day. it’s important for Lotus to produce the cars quickly. what’s good with the name if you don’t have product to sell?

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        • Unforgiven on Apr 18, 2011 at 10:09 am

          What for? What car can u get at 30k? What car can u get at 40k?
          We are definitely able to sell cars in M’sia, nothing to worry…

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    • aduss on Apr 15, 2011 at 10:16 pm

      Malayan Banking Berhad and Affin Bank Berhad is GLC cmpny.. so… erm..

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      • huiyoo on Apr 16, 2011 at 7:20 am

        Maybank and Affin is GLC??

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      • so they will get the money for free? it’s still not your money.

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      • bobdbilder on Apr 16, 2011 at 12:59 pm

        They have to make money also don’t they? How do banks make money? Compounded Interest Rates. Loans. Credit Cards.

        Duuuhhh!!!!

        I don’t get this. Are we living in the Ice Age? Read people! Get an education!

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      • aduss on Apr 16, 2011 at 4:50 pm

        hahahah… sajer jer bg nk tengok aper yg org akan comment.. saya pernah bg tahu cmpnya GLC mcm proton tak semestinya mggunakan duit cukai dari rakyat..

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    • yeah rite! on Apr 15, 2011 at 10:57 pm

      no, it’s not but it would be if it goes on to be another gov bail out!

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  • Until today Lotus input to Proton is minimal. By right with Lotus knowhow Proton should be able to design & produce world class cars but sad to say all they getting is some engineering crumbs from the Brits. It’s a poor decision with low return of investments

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    • armang on Apr 15, 2011 at 9:16 pm

      you think to develop a new model is something like go to pasar and pick and choose. you should know that to develop a new model will cost proton at least near half of billion ringgit? anyway, there are new models to be introduced in future. wait and see.

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      • armang those initial development cost has already been paid off & engineering cues learned. Proton don’t need to inject fresh capital to develop whatever that the Brits haven’t already done or learned. I say Proton has been suckered by Lotus. For your info designing a car today IS PICK & CHOOSE !

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        • Eyesore on Apr 16, 2011 at 9:26 am

          well…let say…. come to PROTON… let see if you can design a car by picking and choosing….

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        • perodua on Apr 16, 2011 at 10:17 am

          I agreed with you. I have said before. The Lotus never earned money for Proton since proton took over it. Now another 270 million pound has been ‘sucked’. Good luck proton.

          Lotus is a liability to proton. It is just an expensive play groud for the lotus engineer to play where proton just pay the bill for them.

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          • Yes i rather take that amount of money and hire the best engineer money can get. At least i can claim the design for it. Unlike now Proton footing the bills but Lotus getting all the credits.

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          • bobdbilder on Apr 16, 2011 at 1:05 pm

            Agreed it was a pig. They’ve changed. Mike is gone. Its Bahar at the helm now. Mike wanted it all track day cars and keeping it all British. Bahar need to make sportscars for the masses; heated seats, climate control, stitched leather and all. They’ve got the designs already. They need to get in production. You don’t make money if the don’t produce.

            They’ve done the shows. They’ve got the feedback. Let them make it!

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          • Tea-N-Scones-Fan on Apr 16, 2011 at 1:18 pm

            People who criticize the new Group Lotus plan have just fallen for the bad PR being spread by their F1 name stealer rivals.

            No one questioned McLarens ability to make the MP4-12c independently from Mercedes. All the key people like Murray who worked on the original F1 have left. Neither is anyone questioning the ability of all the other small independent sportscar and supercar makers.

            But they question Group Lotus, because some douchebags have managed to convince them that they are not capable based on no good reason.

            Come on lah, even the Nissan GTR needed help from Lotus Engineering!

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          • perodua on Apr 16, 2011 at 5:42 pm

            I don’t see the Bahar effect.
            I don’t listen to bad PR .
            I only see the company profit & lost account.
            Now you can talk how good and how prospective you are…….see the result first.

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    • Lotus Nut on Apr 15, 2011 at 9:49 pm

      Sorry but Proton must get whatever they ask for !! They own Lotus so in reality they own the engineering expertise of Lotus. If they chose not to use it that’s up to them.

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    • Dude….The Brits are egotistical wankers, they’d rather pisss into their own pint of larger and drink it then helping us “Malaysian”.

      All I can say to the banks are “Good Luck”….

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      • Flowerpot on Apr 16, 2011 at 6:00 am

        Ha ha! Reminds me of Ewan McGregor’s rant in Trainspotting:
        “Some hate the English. I don’t. They’re just wankers. We, on the other hand, are COLONIZED by wankers. Can’t even find a decent culture to be colonized BY. We’re ruled by effete a**holes. It’s a SHITE state of affairs to be in, Tommy, and ALL the fresh air in the world won’t make any f**king difference!” :-p

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    • agree!!

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  • Mega/Liverpool on Apr 15, 2011 at 8:45 pm

    British goverment sez NO to Lotus:-
    http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/14/report-lotus-unable-to-secure-local-government-money/

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    • angryaboutanything on Apr 16, 2011 at 2:02 am

      Yes, even Brit bank un willing 2 lend out the money for a Brit “local” motor company, I wonder on what guarantee the banks get to lend out such a massive sum in Ringgit. Guarantee Gov will bail maybe?

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      • Fazzurri on Apr 16, 2011 at 7:27 am

        Bank British banyak takde duit sebab krisis ekonomi dulu.. Lagipun depa takkan nak tolong Company British yg telah dijajah oleh tanah bekas jajahannya?

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      • 98tecknik89 on Apr 16, 2011 at 9:11 am

        bank get profit sharing on top of the interest

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    • Cowabunga! on Apr 16, 2011 at 11:30 am

      you must understand that it’s NOT the idea of saying NO when a profit comes along for bank…it’s also due to LOUSY idea and proposals coming from within the organization…and not to mention Malaysia’s credential around the world….

      I believe they would gladly do $500M pounds loan for a Arab.

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  • go baharuddin go baharuddin on Apr 15, 2011 at 8:49 pm

    banyakkkkk tuuuuuuuuuuuuu..!!!

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  • teamsleepnine on Apr 15, 2011 at 8:55 pm

    All the best to proton and lotus

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  • Azlan on Apr 15, 2011 at 9:03 pm

    well done proton…bahar needs to delivered

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  • BadBET on Apr 15, 2011 at 9:09 pm

    owh.. they get money from here? why no lloyds, barclays or Standard_Chartered? just curious about that :p

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    • danza on Apr 16, 2011 at 12:29 am

      British banks bankrupt already, have to be bailed out by their own government. We still got lots of money in our banks.

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      • BadBET on Apr 16, 2011 at 11:20 pm

        just curious why no global banker in that list ie: hsbc or any european bank to give loan to lotus. It just feel like lotus 5 year plan is not justified by those global bankers.

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  • jumbo on Apr 15, 2011 at 9:12 pm

    now who says that proton use rakyat’s money?

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    • If LOTUS lose money & loan defaulted…..no worries , BIG “G” will use our money to bail them out,

      Hmm…wonder how a Kiasu’s land bank have faith on this deal, maybe P1 gurantee the loan & ultimately will be you & me burden if the 5 years plan go under

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  • east43street on Apr 15, 2011 at 9:35 pm

    Way forward for Lotus Cars. It is now the time to work.

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  • SeriuosSAM on Apr 15, 2011 at 9:40 pm

    let’s pray their plan will be fruitful and they can pay back the LOAN

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  • good luck and my wishes to lotus and proton, the fact that only m’sian banks are only ones willing to borrow sounds bit fishy..if cannot pay, would the ‘g’ or indirectly proton would foot the bill?..lets not start a new scandal and make sure lotus succeed and pay bank those loans..

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    • toyota787 on Apr 16, 2011 at 10:41 pm

      Not true. There is also OCBC Bank, a Singaporean bank, among the syndicated lenders. And the right word is lend, not borrow.

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  • Lotus Nut on Apr 15, 2011 at 9:50 pm

    Lotus will succeed !!

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  • xlawa on Apr 15, 2011 at 10:21 pm

    I dont think the new Lotuscars car lineups resemble any of the earlier Lotus best-selling models, apart from Esprit. Styling-wise, all of them cannot rival Lambo or Ferrari. Performance-wise, again cannot beat even Porsche or Aston. technology-wise, taking F1-technology into mass-produced cars — who would fall for that kinda marketing bs anymore these days? Price-wise, dunno. If they fail to sell/reach their target volume per year, what then? Proton have to payback the loan to the banks on behalf of Lotuscars? hmm…

    On the other hand, this Bahar guy is such a manipulative influential CEO, well done!

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    • danza on Apr 16, 2011 at 12:43 am

      Don’t be a party pooper.

      When lotus released their 5 concept cars not too long ago, the whole automotive press went gaga over the cars. It is one of the most memorable release of concept cars in modern times. And all the cars looked stunning.

      The Lotus Elise is best in its class and Evora beats the Porsche Cayman in some of the media road test. You are just a pathetic Lotus basher

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      • Rockmebaby on Apr 16, 2011 at 1:22 am

        Best in the class mean nothing if u can’t sell something people want to buy!!!
        That’ not how money making business is run. This is not a home DIY project….This one is about life & dead for Lotus….

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        • danza on Apr 16, 2011 at 10:02 am

          How do you know that the concept cars are going to fail in the market? Do you have a crystal ball that can give accurate prediction? Or are you someone from the future, coming back to the present time trying to warn us Malaysians how Lotus is already failing in 2020? With attitudes like yours, we all might just drop everything and wait for the world to end.

          Lotus have a lot of potential to be as profitable as some of the leading sports cars makers today and they just need someone with a vision and charisma to pull it through. Danny Bahar seems to be the best candidate for the transformation.

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          • Razor on Apr 16, 2011 at 10:44 am

            u dont read overseas papers or news dont u.. most people criticized dany bahar as being over ambitious and will be the fall of lotus

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          • Young Man on Apr 16, 2011 at 12:25 pm

            Hi Guyz,
            For heaven sake, if you dont have any dream or a vision, you cant be looking at those succesful billionaires. You must have the guts if you want to success in something….otherwice u’ll end up just being a pussy sitting at home and bashing at others…..

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          • Fazzurri on Apr 18, 2011 at 2:20 pm

            Like u said razor, MOST people criticized Bahar, and I believe MOST people like u and me are still live in a normal live right? Just makan gaji n bayar hutang and tax every month… we can be afraid to criticism if we are not prepared, and never take a chance because we are afraid..

            Only few people in the world are a success businessman with billion in their pocket because they do not afraid of any criticism when they start doing business.

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          • VoidDance on Apr 16, 2011 at 12:59 pm

            Well, one thing for sure. To bump up sales from the current 2000 units per year to 8000+ per year in 5 years time is a hell lot of witchcraft in this modern world. Even all the established sport car manufacturers cannot achieve it (they did it slowly over a longer period of time).

            So, good luck Lotus and best of luck Proton (you need it). Make us proud.

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    • toyota787 on Apr 16, 2011 at 10:36 pm

      How do you know that Proton will pay back the loan if Lotus defaulted? Proton will do that only if they provide guarantee, but nothing is mentioned in the news on that.

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  • e-tique on Apr 15, 2011 at 10:50 pm

    get back to work to prove ure profitability…just do it!

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  • part of it will be used to upgrade facilities in norfolk, and giving job to 1200 brits.

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  • sproc_45 on Apr 15, 2011 at 11:34 pm

    Proton should concentrate building it’s mass market products rather than building niche sports car. The ‘old man’ dream should be drop if it is not feasible to continue.

    Why are the all banks are all from Malaysia? If the business plan are convincing enough, surely it will attract international bank expecially UK based.

    Another syok sendiri case?

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    • OCBC is a Singaporean Bank. Even they got faith in Proton.

      Feeling odd?

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      • sproc45 on Apr 16, 2011 at 8:58 am

        Yes, OCBC is a Singaporean based. But they are in business here in Malaysia. So where are their resources are from? Are they being pressured by our G to give out the loan? We don’t know.

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        • Lol, their HQ is in Singapore so they must have consult the upper board first before dishing out the loan.This is a pure business decision.

          Heck, even if OCBC isn’t giving the loan, they wont lose their license. You thought Government can easily pressure them for just 1 funding ah?

          Grow up man.

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      • MCdog on Apr 16, 2011 at 9:45 am

        lol, it is because OCBC care about their license lar

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        • Ordinary Joe on Apr 16, 2011 at 11:38 am

          U think can suka-suka revoke a banking license? That easy? Grow up…

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          • MCdog on Apr 17, 2011 at 10:25 am

            Grow up and admit that Malaysia is a suka suka land. How many Banks was ordered to sell or merge?
            Another fate is why CIMB bank can suka suka overgrow Maybank? Got ‘superman’ support ma.

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          • Fazzurri on Apr 18, 2011 at 2:35 pm

            Yeah.. Supperman support konon.. That najib little brother, Nazir Razak is a REAL banker and business savvy one. Before he return to Malaysia, he already have an established merchant bank in New York called Commerce Investment Merchant Bank.

            Like P. Diddy said, If you can make it here (N.Y), you can make it anywhere..

            BTW, where can i claim money if someone said i’ve been paid by BN?

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      • jajay on Apr 16, 2011 at 12:13 pm

        off course la got good faith, any loans guaranteed by gvt sure got faith one…if you look at lotus, they have never been profitable as a car maker ever..Lotus contribution to proton is qute minimal, look at proton engines..or is it just one lousy engine..if lotus contribute so much ten why go back to rebadging mitsus?? throw money in F1 like orang kaya but products barely selling even with protection..something really wrong with the attitude here..

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    • u do business like rojak ka??

      proton owned lotus.. if the subsidiary doing bad, then should revive it.

      proton will still produce mass market car, lotus will produce niche sportcar.

      apa punya orang.. learn how to differentiate plss

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      • 1underground on Apr 16, 2011 at 8:36 pm

        Revive Lotus ? Haha..u think Proton doing darn good izzit !

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        • rally_fan on Apr 17, 2011 at 9:06 am

          lotus and proton are entirely different entities, different products, target markets, branding, etc. etc.

          just because proton arent doing well currently doesnt mean a thing to lotus. they are playing on a very different level, albeit a very tought one.

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  • lotus has no choice but to move on and develop new cars that the buying public wants…and in volumes that can generate returns to sustain itself and pay off the loans. the kind of niche, hard-core cars they currently produce unfortunately are for die-hards only. gotta respect their balls of steel tho..

    gonna be a tough (but exciting) times ahead. am just concern about the high costs in uk…. is there a way to reduce manufacturing costs by transferring production to tg malim or shah alam? start by ckd and gradually source some of the parts locally and leverage on proton’s supply chain?

    best of luck bahar and team, looking fwd to the new elise !

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  • Patriot on Apr 16, 2011 at 12:28 am

    I think the government is the guarantor for the loan. If Lotus can’t pay back the loan,

    we rakyat will have to foot the bill. Useless government.

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    • east43street on Apr 16, 2011 at 6:04 am

      Pure assumption. Won’t get anywhere with that. Too much thinking won’t bring you anywhere too.

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  • 1underground on Apr 16, 2011 at 12:34 am

    All that money should be use to improve Proton…not Lotus ! What if Lotus dont make it ? Proton have to pay all the loans ! We Msian forever driving inferior cars while Mr Bahar and co. enjoying spending the money on his dreams ? Even if Lotus succeed what do we get in return ?

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    • SeriuosSAM on Apr 16, 2011 at 2:25 am

      we will get a sticker that says”HANDLING BY LOTUS” meh

      lol

      :D

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      • Yes! The sticker probably Made in China too…LoL

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        • seriusSAM on Apr 16, 2011 at 1:18 pm

          yeah agree with you… JUST sticker
          even HANDLING BY AH BENG is sound much better meh

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  • Rockmebaby on Apr 16, 2011 at 1:18 am

    Some poor folks will loose their $$$$ big time. Proton need government protective arm to survive. Now, a poor boy try to help a permenant sick man……Good luck to all those brave men & women….Btw, who’s the smart guy who bought Lotus in the first place??????

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    • quattro on Apr 16, 2011 at 7:15 am

      untill today, no malaysian who bought persona mampu beli kete lotus > malaysia beli lotos, tp rakyak hanya mampu beli persona, nak beli lotus, ceo je lah yg mampu beli di malaysia ni…………mana kepentingan rakyat? perlu jual di malaysia harga special , br org malaysia bangga lotus proton punya

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    • go baharuddin go baharuddin on Apr 16, 2011 at 8:07 am

      * Some poor folks will loose their $$$$ big time – they brave to take the risk. bravo them. you just sitting and type, no balls at all.
      * Proton need government protective arm to survive – so do you and most malaysian. subsidies all over the place.
      * Now, a poor boy try to help a permenant sick man – they are helping each other to get better. You dont even get sucked.
      * Good luck to all those brave men & women – see, you are coward.
      * Btw, who’s the smart guy who bought Lotus in the first place? – the late tan sri yahya. die because crash of helicopter.

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      • jajay on Apr 16, 2011 at 12:15 pm

        the poor folks are u, me and the rest of m’sia..and getting poorer by the day..

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  • Fazzurri on Apr 16, 2011 at 7:34 am

    Tu dia.. Buat loan ni macam perjanjian Syaitan.. Ni sampai 6 perjanjian Syaitan dibuatnya.. Sampai loan kat 6 bank.. Nak buat loan proposal yg boleh sampai ke CEO Bank bukannya senang.. Berapala komisen org yg uruskan pinjaman ni dapat daripada RM1.33 bilion (RM1,330,000,000) tu..

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    • obviously u don’t know what a syndicated loan is…..

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      • Fazzurri on Apr 18, 2011 at 2:28 pm

        yeah u r right, I dunno about syndicated loan. I just see it as normal loan that we do with bank. And i know that for any loan that we make, the person in charge will get some komisyen from bank..

        I’m saying this not because i bash proton or hate this loan proposal. I just don’t like loan.. Who in the world like to make loan?? We make loan coz we can’t afford to pay lump sum only..

        But to grow we have to lend right? So I really hope all their 5 model will become reality..

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  • Joshie on Apr 16, 2011 at 7:52 am

    Better use the money to develop the roads and the country.

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    • niceone on Apr 16, 2011 at 6:09 pm

      yeah…….all 6 banks involved should develop roads rather than giving loans..then name the roads Maybank Expressway, CIMB Highway, Jalan OCBC etc. bcos they build it with their money..

      develop yourself first (especially brain).

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    • toyota787 on Apr 16, 2011 at 10:50 pm

      Use the loans to develop roads? Ok, but are you willing to pay the toll on it? Cos that’s what they’ll do if the finance road construction with bank loans.

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    • That’s the job of the Government, not banks….appaaaaraaaa

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  • makeitmine on Apr 16, 2011 at 8:04 am

    Certainly Lotus is a good buy.. I think the banks are lining up to own Lotus should Proton fail.

    Lotus Range Extender Engine Under Serious Consideration by Three Automakers

    “Needless to say, this technology has been well received and Lotus Engineering claims three major automakers are currently weighing a decision to lace orders ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 units per year. In addition, Lotus says many smaller automakers are also looking at placing orders for between 100 and 1,000 units.”

    Read
    http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2011/04/lotus-range-extender-engine-under-serious-consideration-by-three-automakers.html

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  • SuperSuper on Apr 16, 2011 at 8:23 am

    Well.. the UK govt refused to give the loan.. so Lotus, under Proton come begging to Msian banker..

    mmm.. what’s the reason UK govt refused the loan?? They don’t trust that Lotus will achieve their goal??

    So, dear Msian, be prepare lah..

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    • bobdbilder on Apr 16, 2011 at 12:50 pm

      Whoa, the UK gov has enough problems of their own; budget deficits, 80%+ sovereign debts, hiking uni fees.

      Our Overnight Lending rate stands at 3.65%. Its wise to take loan here than in UK coz it would be too expensive to pay the interest.

      What were you thinking fellow Malaysian.

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    • llgriver on Apr 16, 2011 at 3:42 pm

      prepare for what?that’s money from banks..maybe you should say

      “So, dear Msian BANKS,be prepare lah..”

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  • Fifteen on Apr 16, 2011 at 8:50 am

    Through OCBC Malaysia, Singapore has an indirect association in the development of the Lotus brand. This is multi-national.

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  • this is another form of gov bail out to this below par car manufacturer!!!!!!!,
    because of this company we have to compromised a lot of opportunity and we have to buy expansive car , excessive taxes!!!!!! thanks to DR M. national car !!!!! just for our own good feeling.

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    • bro, borrowing money from a bank is not bail-out la.

      using your logic then every business out there and every tom dick harry is being bailed out by gomen.

      btw, the banks do not do this out of charity.. they charge interest. i.e they expect their money back and more untung..

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      • MCdog on Apr 17, 2011 at 10:41 am

        This is a obvious bailout action for a losing company through ‘loan’, hello? you still can’t recognize it?

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    • bobdbilder on Apr 16, 2011 at 12:56 pm

      How can this be a government bail out? They are taking loan instead of from their stocks. U have absolutely no idea about business don’t you? Better take loan now, invest in value. What’s wrong with that? Every company does it.

      Ignorance will be the death of men. Coz we’re too macho to read a book.

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      • I think you have poor knowledge about business. Lotus has been not been earning at least for 18 years. Take loan for what? Invest in what value?

        Every company does it because they are making money and expanding. Read more economy book & news bobdbilder.

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        • rally_fan on Apr 17, 2011 at 9:11 am

          jay, dont accuse others of having poor knowledge when you yourself are demonstrating the same on your part.. this is just a continuation of the plans to turnaround lotus. everyone knows lotus have not been making money since proton bought it.. which is why danny bahar was brought in. he demonstrated his intentions and ideas to turnaround the company with his bold launch of 5 concepts.. everyone knows that to bring this plan to reality, a huge injection of funds is needed. So this announcement on the loan is just the logical next step. no surprise at all.. so i cant comprehend why there are so many people here who are acting surprised.

          if you dont take any risks, how are you going to succeed?

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        • tiadaid on Apr 17, 2011 at 9:20 am

          So are you saying Lotus should not expand? How can they make money if they don’t take the steps necessary to expand? They can’t rest on Elise and its sister models for long, which is why they have to get this capital investment.

          If they’ve not been earning for 18 years, then the new models are a solution.

          Typical Malaysian thinking. No wonder why we’re still stuck while everybody’s moving forward!

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        • He is only explaining that bank loans are not bail out….
          i now u have read your books, but shouldnt u read the thread of comments first before replying….

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    • asahiyakuza on Apr 17, 2011 at 3:22 pm

      why don’t we Malaysian just appreciate that we have own on brand name car maker? without proton, we’ll still be using the puny kancil to bring our family around… yet we have bigger cars because of Proton.. regardless how low the quality was… I bet 70% of the bashers is using proton.. thanks Dr. M… you are absobloodylotely better than any other politician on this country… especially the one in the hot movie rite now.

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  • abuden on Apr 16, 2011 at 10:53 am

    Beware they are eyeing our EPF money next.

    Hari in kita UBAH!

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    • MCdog on Apr 17, 2011 at 10:54 am

      hmm you remind me of our EPF money on ValueCAP
      http://sloone.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/epf-money-to-abuse-or-not/

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  • Cowabunga! on Apr 16, 2011 at 11:27 am

    …. yeah..wow….existing models are already using Toyota engines..

    now, the “coming soon” models are …
    ” put a darn IS-F Lexus engine, and tune it ” …wow..innovative…

    that 270 million would probably be buying rights over IS-F engines more than doing anything.

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    • engine-sharing, platform-sharing, parts-sharing is v common in industry in case you haven’t noticed. its just business, plain n simple. from bugatti to land-rovers to audi’s to fords to citroens….they all do it.

      lotus is no ferrari nor porsche..yet, but hopefully they will be one day…

      as for the banks… yeah, fund more property development, more stock-trading, more speculative bubble-inducing stuff… and when they burst…..go to gomen to bail them out. we just came out of it recently.

      so, i think funding a car company is alright. and by car company standards, the amount is small actually. banks should take risks that feed the real economy too.

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  • ignoramus on Apr 16, 2011 at 11:34 am

    Who is providing the guarantee to the banks? Think about it. Banks won’t take such high risks especially Malaysian banks who are always conservative. Anyone who’s dealt with local banks know this very well. they’re not venture capitalists. If you want 1mil loan from a bank they want YOU to put your 1 mil which they expect you to already have into their FD etc or give them your life and other assets as collateral. And this project is ultra risky at best. So who is underwriting the loans? Think about it..

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    • Don’t be so naive bro.
      With TM at its helm , the local banks
      would have got some govt assurance that if
      they default in its loan,the govt is there
      to bail them out.
      Just look at Puncak Niaga,Syabas and Splash bondholders
      asking for 1bil govt bailout.
      The writings on the wall !!

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      • toyota787 on Apr 16, 2011 at 10:54 pm

        Well, dont you be so naive as well. Those who have worked before in a bank would know that government ‘assurance’ meant little in loan processing, unless it came in the form of actual, black and white, letter of guarantee.

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  • ilyasadam on Apr 16, 2011 at 1:26 pm

    Although i do support the 5 year turnaround plan but I am a little skeptical, now this guy Danny Bahar has our motoring company Proton at stake if his plans fail, now he also has our 5 of our banks at stake. Its not going to be easy competing with the likes of porsche & lamboghini which has vw group backing.
    Its not gonna be an easy job I must say, but if Danny can actually pull this off, he will be a legend because this is going to be a piece of history !! Lets hope for the best !

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    • llgriver on Apr 16, 2011 at 3:35 pm

      hoping for the best is not enough.. buying PROTONs and LOTUSes may help.

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  • east43street on Apr 16, 2011 at 3:27 pm

    Paul Tan,
    Do you agree that ‘lotus ride and handling’ sticked on proton cars is just a mere sticker or there is a true contribution from lotus to proton cars. Let’s hear it from you being an impartial and professional writer. You must have evaluated this before.

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    • rally_fan on Apr 17, 2011 at 8:59 am

      why dont you go testdrive some of the current proton models at the showroom? or you can’t tell the difference at all between how different cars handle?

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      • east43street on Apr 17, 2011 at 7:41 pm

        Everybody can test drives and opines. The difference between one and another would be categorised as a pro-proton or a proton basher. Paul Tan can provide an impartial insight, being an impartial party as he always do. I don’t need to test drive the car. Hope you are not missing the point.

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  • lawax on Apr 16, 2011 at 6:09 pm

    The financial crisis in 2009-2010 was largely contributed by overloans from banks in US, whose problems then propagated worldwide. US bank CEO’s approved loans to troubling large corporations who cannot pay back although it should have been clear in the payback calculations in the loans paperwork that had led to the wrong approvals that it was not possible for most of those corporations in US to payback. When they failed to payback, bankruptcies were declared, but the banks gained nothing from mere declaration and tried to seek help from GW Bush who in turn passed on the burden to Obama! You can see/read about how upset Obama was with the Bank CEO’s. Now, why didn’t UK bank give the loans to Lotuscars? It was lesson-learnt by the UK banks, methinks. Can Banks in Msia decide to learn from the lesson or are their decisions heavily controlled…?

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    • pakka on Apr 16, 2011 at 9:03 pm

      Mind you bankers are conservative lot, and they are lot more timid in Malaysia even by their own standard. Those bank would have done their due diligence exhaustively before even considering printing the contract paper.

      What happen in US is i believe is caused by their own mis-adventure with their non performing loans and the UK simply gets the residual effect. US is their main trading partner.

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    • toyota787 on Apr 16, 2011 at 10:44 pm

      Hey slow down… The recent crisis in the US was caused mostly by subprime loans to individuals, not loans to large corporations.

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    • east43street on Apr 17, 2011 at 6:09 am

      Agree with toyota787. Indeed it is caused by subprime loans. Please google it, rather than shooting point blank.

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  • Henry on Apr 16, 2011 at 10:01 pm

    More $$$ down the drain.

    Proton and Lotus just don’t sell enough cars to survive in this industry. Pouring more money in won’t help it one bit. They’ll ask for another 270 m soon.

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    • rally_fan on Apr 17, 2011 at 9:16 am

      henry, please do more reading before commenting.. the loans are not to help the lotus ‘survive’. the loans are there to help turnaround the company into a profitable entity that can stand on its own based on the plans set by danny bahar.. these plans have already been set in motion way back during the paris motorshow last year. this is just the natural next step. his plan is bold, and he has his many critics, but not many have the brains of the guts to make a decision like that.

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  • tokmoh on Apr 16, 2011 at 10:09 pm

    Ararara… So much skepticism in the air…

    Dany bahar, the man behind Ferrari 458 n building Red bull racing, is but a greedy, untrustworthy man in msian eyes, eh? How naive to think Lotus should keep making cars nobody can buy, and resist a change that’s far more promising…

    Anyway, bond markets all over Europe are bad thanks to PIGS, Asia region is for now the economic heaven for European n American investors n business. Lotus is no different, they’re just making the rational choice.

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  • Why not they just potong and dispose off Lotus for £1.00

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  • wc5be on Apr 17, 2011 at 12:58 am

    Looks like only Malaysian banks willing to lend to Lotus. And it is 6 banks. Which beg the question of risk. Why need to source from 6 banks? Not 2 or 3? Quite obvious due to political strings are pulled to loan to Lotus. While Lotus can source a loan from UK, it didn’t. It raise some questions. FYI, UK loan rates are much lower compared to Malaysia, much more for business loan. Are the UK/ Europe bankers unwilling to loan to Lotus? Hope business decisions are not clouded till it affect another GLCs (rakyat money) again.
    If you can’t save a sinking boat, abandon the ship. Cut your loses. It is one of the basic rules of business/ investment. Well, it’s already more than 10 years P1 trying to save Lotus. Just hope come 2014, everything’s turn well. Any lesson learn P1? Or still trying to play with the big boys?

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  • Wait don’t get so excited !!
    This is just the 1st tranche cos Lotus needs 480mil pounds
    capital injection.
    Poor Proton will be milked dry.
    While Dany Bahar and his Real Madrid
    team of managers will have the last laugh.!!

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  • cube_monkey on Apr 17, 2011 at 12:18 pm

    Hopefully the money will channel to the right path and reignite Lotus brand and also Proton.
    Really like all the new Lotus car design

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  • sokiew on Apr 18, 2011 at 10:27 am

    for those bashers, so u all wanted banks to lend ‘”brothers’shop ” to expand business rather than lotus meh? nobody will buy brothers supercars lorr…

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  • fauzi on Apr 18, 2011 at 4:01 pm

    THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR PROTON. WATCH THIS SPACE

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