The report said that Kia, a sister company of Hyundai Motor Co, could sign an investment agreement with the Thai government as early as this year, adding that construction could start in the first half of next year.

"As we have global operations, we are reviewing strategies to target various overseas markets, but the Thai factory issue has not been decided," a Kia spokesperson told Reuters.

Kia currently has production sites outside South Korea in the United States, China, India, Mexico and Slovakia.

(Reporting by Heekyong Yang; editing by Jason Neely)