Suzuki: GM bankruptcy 100% Impossible

TOKYO, Nov 26, 2008; Chang-Ran Kim writing for Reuters reported that Suzuki Motor Corp Chief Executive Osamu Suzuki said on Wednesday he believed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by former top shareholder General Motors Corp was "100 percent" impossible.

"We are absolutely not assuming a scenario in which GM files for Chapter 11," Suzuki told reporters at a news conference in Tokyo.

"I believe it's 100 percent outside the realm of possibility," he said, repeating that the two carmakers would continue to work together on the development of future safety and environmental technologies.

GM, which once owned 20 percent of Suzuki, sold the last 3 percent back to the Japanese carmaker last week as it scraped around for cash to avoid a bankruptcy filing.

The partnership between GM and the Japanese small-car maker goes back 27 years, and still involves more than 10 joint projects including Suzuki's production of Opel brand cars and joint ownership of a factory in Argentina.

GM, which is seeking a government bailout, posted a deeper-than-expected loss for the third quarter in early November and warned it would run desperately short of cash by early next year without government support.

Editing for reuters by Michael Watson