P.M. BRIEFING : Fiat Offers Aid to Polish Industry

Italian car maker Fiat-Auto has offered to invest almost $2 billion in the Polish car industry in exchange for exclusive rights to build cars in Poland, a government source said today.

The proposal was made during secret talks Tuesday between a Fiat delegation, Polish Industry Minister Tadeusz Syryjczyk and managers of Poland’s state-owned car makers FSO and FSM, the source said in response to questions regarding news reports of the talks.

But a government spokeswoman, asked about the reports, said there is no question of giving Fiat exclusive rights.

“Obviously there was no agreement on exclusivity,” said spokeswoman Malgorzata Niezabitowska. “Fiat offered very good conditions, but these were only initial negotiations. There will be another meeting in two weeks.”