Suzuki CEO offers GM's Wagoner vote of confidence

TOKYO, July 4, 2006; Reuters reported thgat the head of Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp. said on Tuesday he believed General Motors Corp. was capable of reviving itself under Rick Wagoner, giving his long-time business partner a vote of confidence amid renewed speculation Wagoner's job could be on the line.

Suzuki Chief Executive Osamu Suzuki and Wagoner have worked together for years as partners in a capital alliance between the two auto makers that was first formed in 1981.

"I believe Mr Wagoner is perfectly capable of rebuilding GM," the outspoken 76-year-old, whose own retirement has also long been rumoured, told a news conference in Tokyo.

"I don't know what GM's balance sheet looks like, but I have full confidence and trust in Mr Wagoner," he said at an event to launch the new SX4 crossover in Japan.

Analysts have said that a sudden proposal last Friday by Kirk Kerkorian, GM's top individual shareholder, urging the U.S. auto maker to consider joining the Nissan-Renault alliance has increased the pressure on Wagoner and opened the door to a greater role for Carlos Ghosn, the industry's turnaround king who heads both Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA.

Nissan and Renault have both said they were open to exploring a three-way partnership providing Kerkorian's proposal gets GM management's endorsement.

Strapped for cash as it battles sinking sales and overblown legacy costs, GM in March unloaded all but 3 percent of its stake in Suzuki, originally at 20 percent, but the two companies have retained their operational ties.

That move in turn led to speculation that Nissan could be interested in eventually taking a stake in Suzuki, especially after they sealed a far-reaching deal last month to supply each other with vehicles and share manufacturing facilities.

Suzuki repeated, however, that he had "no intention whatsoever" of entering into a capital relationship with Nissan.