Banque PSA Finance SA, registered in June 2008 as the financial branch of French auto concern PSA Peugeot Citroen, is going to buy the above mentioned bank. German Deutsche Bank will be the financial consultant from the part of AIG, whereas the Russian unit of CMS will consult the French side.

Other terms of the transaction have not yet been disclosed.

It should be recalled that the net loss of AIG for the Ist quarter of 2009 decreased by 44 per cent and amounted to 4.35 billion dollars, while a year earlier the company recorded a net loss of  7.8 billion U.S. dollars. In doing so, the losses in terms of one share in the I quarter of 2009 amounted to 1.98 dollars while a year ago they were recorded at U.S. 3.09 dollars per share.

The company AIG has been one of the biggest victims of the world financial crisis. In autumn of the last year it was on the brink of bankruptcy, and the government had to actually buy back the entire company, spending tens of billions of dollars. Since then, AIG has begun to restructure, gradually getting rid of its units and moving to a less bulky structure of the company.

In April of this year AIG agreed to the sale of its insurance business named 21st Century Insurance Group to Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services Group. Under the deal, one of the “daughters” of Zurich Financial will pay 1,9 billion dollars to AIG, of which U.S. $ 1.5 billion will be paid in cash and another 400 million dollars – in the form of debt securities guaranteed by Zurich Insurance Company, the principal operating unit of Zurich Financial.

The financial results of VW in the first quarter exceeded expectations of the experts so much, that the company, that has become very optimistic, cautiously forecasts growth throughout 2009. At the motor show in Shanghai, Mr. Vinterkorn introduced the latest versions of popular models of Volkswagen, as the Golf and Passat. Now China is the biggest market for VW. In 2008, the concern was able to sell 1.02 million vehicles here (8.6% more than the previous year). By 2018 the automaker from Bayer plans to double sales volume. Audy company has a similar case. The automaker from Ingolstadt predicts a serious increase in the Chinese market. As the head of Audi Rupert Stadler said, the company expects to increase sales to 200 thousand cars per year by 2015. Last year the company became the most successful one among the producers of premium-class cars in the Chinese market, realizing 120 thousand cars. This year the company is also doing rather well. According to Stadler, «in March record of sales was recorded – 11 800 vehicles, and April was also no less than sensational». At this car show in Shanghai it presents an updated version of Audi Q7.

The main rival of Audi, BMW company has experienced serious shakes in regard with the crisis, but it hopes to remedy the situation by very successful sales in the Chinese market and has high hopes for a stable demand in the Chinese premium class auto market. As the company’s marketing director Ian Robertson said, according to the forecasts of the company sales in 2009 should exceed the ones of the last year (75 thousand cars).