Gov't to sell Daewoo International by June

SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Yonhap) -- The government will seek to wrap up the sale of Daewoo International Corp. in the first half of next year in a bid to recoup public funds, the national financial watchdog said Friday.

Creditors of Daewoo International, led by the state-run debt clearer Korea Asset
Management Corp. (KAMCO), are looking to sell a 68 percent stake in the company
valued at around 2.2 trillion won (US$1.87 billion).
The government is seeking to sell bailed-out firms swiftly in order to retrieve
public funds, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said in a statement after
holding a public fund oversight committee meeting.
POSCO, South Korea's leading steelmaker, has expressed its interest in bidding on
Daewoo International, a former unit of the now-defunct Daewoo Group that is
focused mainly on energy development.
The FSC said the government will seek to unload its 5 percent stake in
electricity monopoly Korea Electric Power Corp. next year. It also plans to sell
its 16 percent stake in Woori Finance Holdings Co. as soon as possible as part of
efforts to privatize the financial holding company, according to the watchdog.
The state-run Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. holds a 66 percent stake in South
Korea's No. 2 financial services company after unloading a 7 percent interest on
Nov. 24 through a block trade. Excluding a 50 percent interest plus one share,
the agency plans to sell the remaining 16 percent via a block trade next year.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)