Farming companies allowed to offer shares to public trading

SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- The government said Thursday it will allow farming
companies to offer their shares for public trading as part of an effort to help
them secure liquidity and enhance competitiveness in the agriculture sector.
Currently, non-farmers cannot hold more than a 75 percent stake in farming
companies. The cap will be lifted altogether by the end of the first half,
according to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
The move, finalized at a presidential meeting earlier in the day, aims to enhance
the competitiveness of the nation's less-developed farming and livestock
industries, the ministry said.
Along with the measure, conglomerates will be allowed to run their own large
livestock farms, lifting an existing partial ban on industrial capital entering
the farming sector, the ministry said.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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