South Korea regulator pushes for Woori sale

The FSC chairman said the partner who acquires Woori will enjoy enough economic benefits and wanted to see foreign bidders.

The top financial regulator aggressively promoted the sale of Woori Finance Holdings, the nation’s largest banking group, by highlighting the attractiveness of the financial firm.

Kim Seok-dong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, also said on Wednesday that bidding for the government’s stake in Woori Finance will be a competition between at least two bidders, and said he’d like to see foreign buyers bid as well.

Kim made his remarks in a Q and A session following a keynote speech at the 2011 Korea Economic Forum co-hosted by the Korea JoongAng Daily and Samsung Economic Research Institute at the Hotel Shilla Wednesday.

“A partner who acquires [Woori Finance] will enjoy enough economic benefits,” Kim said, reaffirming his assertion that the bidding will be a real competition with more than one bidder.

“Woori Finance’s PBR [Price-to-Book Ratio] hovers around 0.7,” he said, highlighting that the stock of Korea’s largest financial group is undervalued. PBR is a ratio used to compare a stock’s market value to its book value. A low PBR means that the stock is undervalued.

The FSC chairman said he’d like to see foreign buyers bid for Woori Finance. Responding to a participant’s question, he said, “I want foreign financial institutions like global foreign banks to aggressively make inroads into the local market and I think conditions have already been set.”

View the full story in JoongAng Daily.