Bank clears sale of Saab's real estate

The sale of troubled Swedish car-maker Saab's real estate won approval from the European Monetary Bank Monday. Bank spokesman Par Isaksson confirmed the move to the Swedish news agency TT. Swedish Automobile last week signed a pact to sell 50.1 percent of its property division to Hemfosa Fastigheter, a Swedish consortium, for 255 million kronor ($40 million). Swedish Automobile and Saab Automobile also announced Monday the signing of final agreements with the Chinese firms Pang Da Automobile and Youngman Passenger Car for 245 million euros ($356 million) in investments. Youngman is to develop three new vehicle lines for Saab, the 9-1, 9-6 and 9-7. Youngman chief executive Pang Qingnian said the deal yields the "best of both worlds" by combining the "industrial and financial strength of Youngman Passenger Car with the state-of-the-art technical expertise of Saab Automobile." Both agreements still require approval from Sweden's National Debt Office.