S. Korea to close preliminary bids for Woori in mid-August

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SEOUL, July 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to receive preliminary bids for Woori Finance Holdings Co. until mid-August, a state public fund manager said Monday, heralding the full-fledged start of efforts to privatize the company after several botched attempts.
Late last month, three local private equity funds -- Vogo Fund, MBK Partners and TStone Corp. -- submitted letters of intent to buy a minimum of 30 percent of the 56.97 percent government stake in Woori Finance, which Seoul is trying to privatize after rescuing it with taxpayer money in the aftermath of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. No banking group had submitted a letter of intent.
The government plans to receive preliminary bids for the US$6 billion stake by Aug. 17, the Public Fund Oversight Committee said, adding that it plans to send process letters to the three prospective buyers this week.
Upon receiving bids, the committee said it plans to finalize a set of requirements for bid participation and short-list the potential candidates.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC), the nation's financial watchdog, said earlier that it plans to pick a preferred bidder by September.
Last month, the FSC scrapped its plan to sell the state-run banking group to KDB Financial Group Inc. due to strong public criticism.
The government's efforts to find a private owner for Woori Finance fell through in 2010 due to lukewarm interest from investors.
Woori Finance is one of the many financial institutions the government salvaged by injecting massive amounts of public funds when the financial crisis erupted in 1997. As of late May, the country had retrieved 101.5 trillion won (US$95.8 billion), or 60.2 percent, out of a total of 168.6 trillion won worth of public funds used as bailout money.
mil@yna.co.kr