(LEAD) KDB Financial interested in buying KEB: chief

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SEOUL, Nov. 20 (Yonhap) -- The head of KDB Financial Group Inc., a state
financial holding company, said Friday the group will seek to buy local banks
including Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) controlled by Lone Star Funds.

"Next year, the local banking sector is likely to see a shake up... We are open
to various (takeover) opportunities at home and abroad including KEB," Min
Euoo-sung, chairman of KDB Financial Group, told reporters.
KDB Financial Group was created in late October as the holding company for the
state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) and four other units as part of a
government plan to sell its stake.
Min earlier said that the group is looking into acquiring financial firms in Asia
in a bid to expand its funding sources, adding that it is looking at two or three
countries.
On the back of the news, shares of KEB were trading 2.39 percent up at 15,000 won
(US$12.9) as of 10:04 a.m. on the Seoul bourse.
The sale of KEB has been stalled since British bank HSBC Holdings Plc. pulled out
of a deal to buy a 51.02 percent stake in the bank in September last year amid
the global financial turmoil. KB Financial Group, which controlls South Korea's
top lender Kookmin Bank, has continued to express interest in acquiring KEB.
Also Friday, Min said the group is likely to pick the preferred bidder for Daewoo
Engineering & Construction Co. next week.
"As the review process is likely to take more time, we will be able to select the
preferred bidder next week," he said. Three overseas buyers have submitted bids
for a 50-percent stake plus one share for the construction unit of
liquidity-squeezed Kumho Asiana Group.
Kumho Asiana has been in a severe cash crunch since it acquired Daewoo
Engineering in 2006. It is required to wrap up its stake sale in the builder by
Dec. 15 under the purchase terms.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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