Kia Motors to sell, lease back some assets -paper

SEOUL, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Kia Motors Corp (000270.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), South Korea's No. 2 carmaker, plans to sell some domestic and overseas production lines and lease them back in the first half of next year in a deal that could fetch up to 250 billion won ($268.7 million), a Korean newspaper said on Saturday.

"To improve financial soundness, (the company) is seeking to sell part of Kia Motors' assets, including production lines, to a leasing company and secure cash," the Chosun Ilbo daily quoted an unnamed senior official at the automaker as saying.

Kia Motors could not immediately be reached for comment.

The report added GE Capital, a financial unit of U.S company General Electric Co (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), was the most likely buyer of the assets.

In October, Kia, an affiliate of top South Korean auto company Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), had posted a bigger-than-expected quarterly net loss due to weaker sales and said it would miss its 2007 operating profit target as costs swelled.

Kia, which has factories in China and Slovakia, is building a $1 billion plant in the United States. ($1=930.3 Won) (Reporting by Kim Yeon-hee; Editing by Louise Heavens)