SHANGHAI: Automaker Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) does not seem to be in any hurry to abandon its strategy of purchasing stakes in overseas automobile firms, even as its South Korean unit Ssangyong decided to seek bankruptcy protection.

Hu Maoyuan, SAIC president, told Jiefang Daily on Tuesday that Ssangyong decided to seek bankruptcy protection after it suffered a liquidity crisis due to the ongoing global economic slowdown.

Collective efforts are now required from the Korean government, banks, workers' union and shareholders for the unit to remain viable, he said.