Kumho Asiana selling subsidiaries to boost liquidity

By Park Bo-ram
SEOUL, June 14 (Yonhap) -- Kumho Asiana Group, a leading South Korean
conglomerate, said Sunday it is seeking to sell two of its affiliates and other
assets in order to tide over a liquidity crunch.

The sale of Asiana IDT, Inc. and Kumho Autolease, Inc. will rake in a total of
239.5 billion won (US$191 million), said the group which owns the country's
second-largest passenger carrier Asiana Airlines, Inc.
The group said it is now close to signing a contract with a foreign investor to
sell a 100 percent stake in Asiana IDT, a software developer, for 170 billion
won, according to the group.
It has also signed a final deal to turn over the whole stake in Kumho Autolease
with a local financial firm.
Previously, the group reached a preliminary agreement with a Chinese company to
sell a 25 percent share in a commercial property in China, Kumho Asiana said.
The business conglomerate has also put its life insurance unit and other assets
up for sales in its effort to boost liquidity.
The moves by the nation's eighth-largest industrial group came after a global
economic downturn weighed down on its earnings and cash flows.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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