Sweden's Finance Minister: This is not the government's problem.

Sweden's National Debt Office on Thursday received an application from Saab on changes to its financing aimed to save the cash-strapped carmaker, its Dutch owner Spyker and the office said.

The National Debt Office (NDO) has a say in Saab's financing because it guaranteed a European Investment Bank loan to Saab but a final decision must be made by the Swedish government itself.

"This morning we received a final proposal from Saab dealing with solutions for their financial problems. We have expedited it (to the government) ... and by close of business today we will send a letter to the government with a recommendation," NDO official Daniel Barr told AFP.

The application to the NDO was "about the release of its security with respect to Saab property," Saab spokesman Eric Geers said.

The office "is not against the principle of releasing this security," Spyker said.

Spyker said earlier this week it was "in discussion with a financial institution on the sale and lease back of Saab Automobile's real estate property," adding a decision was subject to the approval of the NDO.

The Dutch company rescued iconic Swedish brand Saab at the last minute in January 2010 by buying it from US auto giant General Motors.

But it did not meet its sale objectives for the year and last month Saab started halting production amid conflicts with suppliers over unpaid bills.

Saab said last week production was stopped "until further notice."

Geers told AFP Thursday that Saab staff would stay home at least until the end of this week.

Swedish media reported Thursday the application filed was between Saab and a foreign party, which could be Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov.

At the time of Saab's sale, Antonov was blocked from taking a stake in the carmaker by former owner GM on concerns over its intellectual property rights in the carmaker.

He said in March he was ready to invest 50 million euros ($70 million) in Saab and would want to take a 30-percent stake in the company and earlier this month, he filed an application to do so.

Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg said he did not want Saab's financial woes to become the government's problem.

"As the situation is now, we must conclude the negotiations but it is a difficult situation where there are a lot of remaining complications and these must be resolved by those responsible for Saab," he told public television SVT.