Kia Motors to issue 400 bln won in warrant bonds

SEOUL, March 6 (Yonhap) -- Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest
automaker, said Friday it plans to issue 400 billion won (US$257.3 million) worth
of bonds with warrants to shore up its financial structure.
Kia's board of directors is set to endorse the plan at a meeting later in the
day, said Lee Jae-rok, the company's chief financial officer, in an annual
shareholder meeting.
"The issue of bonds with warrants could dilute the stock price in the short term,
but it could serve as a stable measure to raise money under the current business
environment," Lee said.
Financial terms of the planned bond sale weren't disclosed.
In 2008, the outstanding net debt of Kia, which is building its first U.S.
assembly plant in the state of Georgia and plans to start production there late
this year, jumped 35 percent to 5.63 trillion won, analysts say.
Kia is an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co.
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