Suppliers demand Slovak incentives; Government says new rules eliminate cash for Kia vendors.(Kia Motor Slovakia)

Byline: Lyle Frink

Kia suppliers are threatening to sue the Slovak government to obtain a total of [euro]17.7 million in incentives they claim were promised for building factories in Slovakia.

Kia Motors is informally representing the suppliers. "We are preparing for arbitration," Kia Slovakia spokesman Dusan Dvorak told Automotive News Europe.

The dispute was sparked last autumn when then-new Economics Minister Jirko Malcharek developed Slovakia's first comprehensive, unified policy on granting incentives to foreign investors.

Malcharek issued new guidelines designed to funnel investment into regions with high unemployment. That meant that …