Thai Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said Thursday that he has asked state-owned and private banks to explore lending opportunities to help Ford Motor Co. (F) and General Motors Corp (GM) finance their production expansion plans in Thailand.

He also expects the Board of Investment to grant tax incentives to the two U.S. auto giants.

The Thai unit of General Motors Corp. has said it is seeking financial support from local financial institutions for its future investment in a THB15 billion ($441 million) diesel-engine and one-ton pickup project.

Ford is planning a $500 million investment with Mazda Motor Corp. (7261.TO) at their Thai joint venture, AutoAlliance Thailand.

Thailand's Board of Investment Wednesday approved tax incentives to lure automobile producers to move their production to Thailand, including a waiver of tariffs on machinery imports and a temporary waiver of corporate tax for 5-7 years.

To be eligible for the incentives, a project must invest no less than THB10 billion to establish new assembly lines that manufacture at least 100,000 units within the first five years of operations.

To be granted the incentives, the project must make new models that have never been produced locally and use new technology, such as hybrid electric vehicles or those that use alternative fuels.

-By Phisanu Phromchanya, Dow Jones Newswires; 662-266-0744; phisanu.phromchanya@dowjones.com