Woori Finance chief says time is ripe for privatization

By Park Bo-ram
SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- The chief of state-owned Woori Finance Holdings Co.
said Tuesday now is the right time to privatize the nation's second-largest
financial firm, citing rising stock prices.

The government, which is currently holding a 73-percent stake in Woori Finance,
has been seeking to sell the financial service company. But the global financial
crisis sparked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers forced South Korea to delay the
privatization of the firm.
The government bailed out Woori Finance in the aftermath of the 1997-98 Asian
financial meltdown.
"Time is ripe for the government to unload its controlling stake in the firm as
the stock prices of Woori Finance have recovered recently," Lee Pal-seung,
Chairman of Woori Finance, said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency.
Shares of Woori Finance have shot up to over 16,000-won (US$13), about a
three-fold jump after falling as low as to 5,050 won in November last year. On
Tuesday, Woori Finance closed at 16,150 won on Tuesday, down 1.82 percent.
The government is seeking to dispose of a 23-percent share first with the
remaining controlling stake to be sold afterward. No progress has been made since
it sold 5 percent of its holdings in June 2007.
Lee said the privatization is pivotal in ensuring the company becomes a
world-class financial service company, urging the government to speed up
unloading its shares.
Woori Finance Holdings' second-quarter net profit fell by a smaller-than-expected
46 percent from a year earlier to 223.1 billion won thanks to one-off gains from
stake sales and smaller loan-loss provisions.
pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)

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