Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 25, 1995 TAG: 9510250078
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
DETROIT - General Motors Corp. reportedly has landed a deal that could give it a bigger foothold in the Chinese automotive market, which is expected to become one of the world's largest.
An announcement may come next week on a billion-dollar-plus GM joint venture to build midsize cars in China with state-owned Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., according to several newspaper reports Tuesday.
GM has joint ventures and licensing agreements worth hundreds of millions of dollars for making parts in China, but its vehicle making has been limited to a small venture with Jinbei Automotive to build compact pickup trucks.
- Associated Press
Signet chairman to retire at 55
Robert M. Freeman, chairman of Signet Banking Corp., said Tuesday he will retire in December 1996. After the Richmond-based company's annual meeting in April, Freeman will turn over his responsibilities as chief executive officer to Malcolm S. McDonald, president and chief operating officer.
T. Gaylon Layfield III, senior executive vice president responsible for consumer banking, will become vice chairman and chief operating officer. Wallace B. Millner II, chief financial officer, will add the title of vice chairman. Both will be elected to Signet's board of directors in 1996.
Freeman will continue as chairman of the board until his retirement, when he will hand them over to McDonald and will remain a member of Signet's board. At that point, Layfield will become president.
Freeman has chosen to retire at age 55, his 25th anniversary with the bank. He said he had long planned to retire while he was in good health and able to enjoy his other interests.
McDonald, 57, joined Signet in 1970 and became president in 1990.
- Staff report
Merger talks end for NationsBank
SAN FRANCISCO - BankAmerica Corp. and NationsBank Corp. discussed a possible merger earlier this year, but the talks ended without any action, a source at one of the institutions confirmed Tuesday.
The merger would have put a U.S. institution in the world's top 10 banks for the first time in years, making it ninth in the world and No.1 in the United States with $412 billion in assets.
But a BankAmerica official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the talks were exploratory and have ended. Reports published Monday said the two banks were discussing a merger.
- Associated Press
by CNB