General Motors share price could triple: Barron's

In this file photo General Motors Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner addresses a news conference during the first media day of the 78th Geneva Car Show at the Palexpo in Geneva March 4, 2008. Shares of GM could triple over the next few years as the company's foreign sales are climbing and its labor costs are falling, weekly business newspaper Barron's said in its June 2 issue.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of U.S. automaker General Motors Corp (GM.N) could triple over the next few years as the company's foreign sales are climbing and its labor costs are falling, weekly business newspaper Barron's said in its June 2 issue.

A bet on General Motors would be risky as the company may face troubles from the weak economy for another 12 to 18 months, Barron's said. But the company stands to save $4 billion to $5 billion a year starting in 2010 from a new United Auto Workers contract that lets the automaker transfer some of its pension assets and pay lower wages for new hires.

Barron's predicted the company's shares could rise to $30 per share, or even $45, in 2010 as those cost savings start to take effect.

General Motors shares closed at $17.10 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.

(Reporting by Emily Chasan; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)