MG Rover filed for a form of bankruptcy protection on Friday after the Shanghai Automotive Industry Company pulled out of talks about its planned take-over of the last major British-owned car manufacturer.(xinhua/AFP)

 BEIJING, April 11 -- The British government says it has offered a 6.5 million pound loan to keep troubled carmaker MG Rover afloat while the company tries to revive a crucial deal with a Chinese car maker.

    MG Rover filed for a form of bankruptcy protection on Friday after the Shanghai Automotive Industry Company, or SAIC, pulled out of talks about its planned takeover of the last major British-owned car manufacturer.

    UK Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt said on Sunday that the funds had been agreed to avoid job losses "while efforts are made to keep the business together".

    "The government has agreed to assist and work with the administrator and with the trade unions who will be developing, with all reasonable speed, a realistic business proposition for SAIC and other potential purchasers to consider. We will monitor the situation closely and review the adequacy of funds available while there is a realistic prospect of re-engagement with SAIC," Hewitt said.

    He said the loan would pay wages and expenses for a week while officials try to persuade SAIC to reconsider.

    Six thousand jobs are at risk if the company's main plant in Longbridge, Birmingham, closes down.

    Administrators, government officials, company managers and union leaders spent the weekend in crisis talks in an attempt to revive the proposed partnership between MG Rover and SAIC.

(Source: CRIENGLISH.com)