Sweden's government on Friday said it had agreed to allow carmaker Saab to alter its financing and thereby get hold of badly-needed cash for continuing operations after several halts to production.

"The government has given Saab the green light to borrow money for its daily operations," Enterprise and Energy Minister Maud Olofsson told reporters.

Sweden has a final say in Saab's business because it last year guaranteed a 400-million euro ($580 million) European Investment Bank loan for the company through its National Debt Office (NDO).

The NDO sent Saab's refinancing proposal to the government late Thursday with a recommendation that it be approved.

Under the agreement, the NDO released its security covering Saab's property holdings, meaning its Dutch owner Spyker can now use these assets to raise fresh cash.

At the same time, however, the EIB financing package for Saab will be reduced to 280 million euros and it has already drawn down 217 million euros from the EIB.

Spyker 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."

Olofsson on Friday also confirmed media reports that the anticipated buyer of the property assets is Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov, a former Spyker shareholder who has so far been blocked from taking a stake in Saab owning to reported allegations of ties to organised crime.

"The deal between Saab and the one who buys Saab Properties must guarantee that Saab receives reasonable payment and that the company has access to its production facilities," Olofsson said, without naming Antonov directly.

Another condition, she added, was that NDO needed to "eliminate the questions" surrounding the expected buyer and payment needed to go through a European bank and one not controlled by the buyer.

"We want to be sure that this is a serious buyer," she said, adding that the strict conditions were set in place to ensure that no "money laundering" took place.

Following the announcement, Spyker also said the deal was "subject to certain conditions" and that it still needed the approval of the EIB.

Antonov filed an application last month with the NDO to take a stake in Saab. He previously said he would be ready to invest 50 million euros ($70 million) and would want to take a 30-percent stake in the company.

Olofsson stressed that the decision Friday had nothing to do with altering Saab's ownership structure which would need the approval of the EIB, GM, NDO and the Swedish government.

She also said the decision did not mean that Stockholm was taking responsibility for Saab's survival.

"Saab's fate will depend on whether the leadership and the employees are able to make a profit," she said.