BEIJING (Reuters) -- Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Ltd. and its Swedish partner still aim to finalize plans to buy Saab by the end of the year, an executive of the Chinese carmaker said.

Beijing Auto said in September it would take a minority stake in Sweden's Koenigsegg Group AB, which plans to buy Saab from General Motors Co. The stake would resolve some of the funding issues for Koenigsegg's purchase of Saab.

The deal was due to be completed the end of October but the Saab sale process hit an obstacle when the Swedish government said last month it would have to wait for a decision on guaranteeing a 400 million euro ($600 million) loan granted earlier to Saab.

Work on concluding the Saab deal was proceeding steadily and "in an orderly manner," Wang Dazong, Beijing Auto's general manager, told reporters on Tuesday but provided no details.

"Mergers and acquisitions are a vital tool, which we are working on both domestically and overseas," Wang said

Saab China push

Koenigsegg, a maker of luxury sports cars, and its new Chinese partner plan to work together on expanding Saab's and Beijing Auto's products in China and other international markets.

The deal is the latest bid by a Chinese automaker to secure a global footprint. China's Geely Automotive is Ford Motor Co.'s preferred bidder to buy Volvo, Saab's Swedish rival.

Beijing Auto dropped out of bidding for Saab sister brand Opel in July.

The company, China's fifth-largest automaker, sold 12,063 cars under its own brand in 2008, 18.7 percent more than in 2007, according to the Automotive News 2009 Guide to China's Auto Market.

The automaker has joint ventures in China with Hyundai Motor Co. and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz.