South Korea has been expecting to sell a stake of state-run Woori Finance, the country‘s No. 2 banking group, on May 17, after it suspended the sale of its 56.97 percent stake in the group last December due to a lack of investor interest, Yonhap news reported.
"As there has been not enough public consensus about KDB Financial Group’s purchase of Woori, the financial watchdog has come to the conclusion that it is not desirable for KDB Financial to bid for a stake in Woori Finance,” Kim Seok-dong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), told lawmakers, quoted by the news agency as saying.
KDB Financial Group is also facing privitazation based on government plan but has emerged as a potential buyer for Woori Finance.
According to the report, speculation has been rising that the government intends to sell Woori Finance to KDB Financial as it has relaxed bidding conditions and seeks to revise related laws to make it easier for financial holding firms to buy a controlled stake in Woori.
(아주경제 송지영 기자)
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