New York  - Automotive giant General Motors aims to start repaying a US government loan starting this year, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing industry sources.

GM, which is due later Monday to issue its first quarterly report since its bankruptcy will start paying back the 6.7 billion dollars US government credit in this final quarter, the paper said.

It said GM would make quarterly payments of one billion dollars to Washington, putting it on track to pay off the 6.7 billion dolalrs by mid-2011.

In addition, GM is also to start repaying Canada's 1.4 billion dollar credit at a rate of 200 million dollars per quarter, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The 6.7 billion dollar credit is not part of the more than 50 billion dollars in state support which GM got from Washington, for which the US got a 60 per cent majority stake in the company. The US share will later be sold again when a newly-reorganised GM returns to the stock market. (dpa)