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S. Korea to speed sales of bailed-out firms
SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's financial watchdog said Tuesday the government plans to expedite sales of its stakes in 14 companies which were bailed out in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
"The government will push for speeding up selling companies to which it injected public funds and plans to complete sales of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. and Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co. this year," the Financial Services Commission said in a report to the National Assembly. "South Korea also plans to review the timing of the sales, seeking a speedy yet flexible approach to the sell-offs."
The move is part of a broader plan by President Lee Myung-bak's government to reform state-run companies. South Korea said Monday it will privatize, merge or restructure 41 firms, including the operator of the nation's largest international airport, as part of the first phase of its controversial public sector reform plan.
State-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) and state asset manager Korea Asset Management Corp., are seeking to sell a combined 50.4 percent stake in Daewoo Shipbuilding, the world's third-largest shipbuilder, as the policy lender prepares for its own privatization. The government plans to start reducing its 100 percent stake in KDB next year and to fully privatize it by 2012.
Creditors of Ssangyong Engineering are aiming to sell a 50.07 percent stake in the builder which has been on the block since 2005. In mid-July, they picked up a consortium led by Dongkuk Steel Mill Co. as a preferred bidder for the builder, a deal industry sources estimate will reach up to 500 billion won (US$485.4 million).
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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