Daewoo Engineering raises US$150 mln in syndicated loan

By Nam Kwang-sik
SEOUL, March 31 (Yonhap) -- Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., South Korea's fourth-largest builder, said Thursday that it has raised US$150 million in a syndicated loan to finance its overseas projects and hedge against currency risks.
The three-year loan carries an interest rate of 3.1 percentage points higher than the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), Daewoo Engineering & Construction said in a statement.
The syndicated loan was arranged by the Singaporean branch of the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB); KDB Ireland Ltd., an Irish unit of KDB; and the Singaporean branch of Woori Bank, South Korea's second-largest lender, the builder said.
Daewoo Engineering & Construction also said that it is in talks with KDB on the lender's participation in financing the development of a new town in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
Last year, KDB, the main creditor of Kumho Asiana, acquired Daewoo Engineering from the group, which has been facing a cash crunch sparked by its purchase of the builder in 2006.
ksnam@yna.co.kr