Proton share price rises...

...but VW and Sime Darby denies the earlier report in the Edge Financial Daily. VW has this to say when asked about the report:

"This report is definitely wrong and only rumor without substance," Andreas Meurer, a Wolfsburg, Germany-based spokesman of Volkswagen, said in a phone interview today. "We will have a round of talks soon."

Source: Bloomberg

So, it seems like the flip flop has not stopped, yet. But the VW spokesperson's admission that there will be another round of talks soon confirms Azman Mokhtar's statement that no decision has been made about Proton's partner yet, and that VW is asking for more talks. This despite Pak Lah's earlier outburst. My friend has been speculating that all this wayang could have been just an attempt to shore up Proton's falling share prices, but he wasn't brave enough to bet his money on his gut feeling. Looks like he missed out on a potential killing since Proton share price has shot up as high as 21% (it closed at 10% higher than previous day). But with the "denial" of VW, Sime Darby (which didn't say anything more) and the silence of Proton and Khazanah, it would seem that the Edge's "rumour" could very well turn out to be true after all, following the step of Pak Lah's romance story. For the sake of the country and Malaysian consumers, and to give Proton a chance to survive and grow, this "rumour" better be true at the end of it all.