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* BAIC chief says committed to going global

* Says “impatient” but cannot control GM’s Saab timetable

* Targets 30 pct sales growth in China next year
(Adds quotes, details)

By Simon Rabinovitch

NANJING, China, Nov 30 (Reuters) – Beijing Automotive
Industry Holding Corp (BAIC) might still be interested in buying
General Motors’ Saab unit, the Chinese car company’s general
manager said on Monday.

Asked by reporters whether BAIC would consider approaching
Saab as a solo buyer or only as a part of a consortium, Wang
Dazong said: “I would just say, ’stay tuned a little bit’.”

Speaking on the sidelines of a China-European Union business
summit, Wang said BAIC’s strategy of going global was still in
place.

BAIC must decide its next move after a consortium of which it
was a member, led by tiny Swedish luxury car maker Koenigsegg,
pulled out of talks last week to buy Saab, putting in doubt the
future of the loss-making GM GM.UL unit.

“I cannot control GM’s timetable. I obviously have no way of
influencing GM’s timetable. I would just say we are very dynamic
and impatient people. We want to do things fast.”

Turning to China’s sizzling domestic auto market, Wang said
it was natural to have a slowdown after a 45 percent surge in
industry-wide sales so far this year, powered in part by
aggressive tax breaks on fuel-efficient cars and other subsidies.

“We would certainly like to encourage the incentive programme
to continue. All the indications are that it is moving in that
direction,” he said. “But this year had tremendous growth, so
normally there is a little bit of hangover, so it may impact next
year’s volume in the industry.”

Vice Commerce Minister Jiang Zengwei said at the weekend that
the government would expand schemes that give consumers a
discount if they trade in old cars for new ones. [ID:nPEK23587]

Wang described BAIC’s outlook as “cautiously optimistic”. He
said the automaker was aiming for 30 percent sales growth next
year, outpacing an expected industry average of 10 percent.
(Reporting by Simon Rabinovitch; Editing by Alan Wheatley)
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