S. Korea to invest 950 bln won in state banks

SEOUL, May 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's government said Friday that it will
invest 950 billion won (US$755.7 billion) into four state-run financial
institutions as part of efforts to expand credit lines for exporters and small
companies.
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said in a statement that it will invest 300
billion won in the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), 250 billion won in the
Export-Import Bank of Korea and 200 billion won each in Korea Asset Management
Corp. and Korea Housing Finance Corp.
The investment will be funded by an additional budget endorsed in April and is
scheduled to be completed by the end of this month, the ministry said. Of the
total, 550 billion won has been injected, it added.
The ministry expects the cash injection will be worth around 13 trillion won of
more liquidity that can be available to small and medium-sized companies,
exporters and people seeking to buy homes.
Since the start of the financial crisis last summer, the ministry said that it
has injected 5.6 trillion won into the nation's five state-run financial
institutes, including IBK.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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