Cash-strapped Ssangyong gets help

SAIC, which had previously refused to financially bail out Ssangyong, said in a statement that the money is for new product development.

But reports from Korea said Ssangyong owed its employees around $45 million in unpaid salaries and had been unable to pay them for December.

SAIC owns 51.33 percent of Ssangyong which has had a tough 2008, with sales falling 52.5 percent compared with 2007