Lee Hyo-sik is Finance Desk editor at The Korea Times. He manages finance-related stories on macroeconomics, banks, stocks, bonds, crypto etc. He is passionate about covering what's happening in Korea's financial industry and explaining it to both Korean and non-Korean readers. You can reach him at leehs@koreatimes.co.kr. Your insights and feedbacks are always appreciated.
KDIC to Sell 7% Stake of Woori Financial
By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
The state-run Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. (KDIC) plans to dispose of its 7 percent stake in Woori Financial Group on a block sale this week, sources said. It currently holds a 65.97 percent stake in the nation's third largest financial group.
In November last year, KDIC sold a 7 percent stake, or 54.62 million shares, at 15,350 won per share, discounted 4.36 percent from the closing price. On April 7, the share price closed at 16,050 won, down 2.13 percent from the previous trading session.
Market analysts here say that now is the right time for the state deposit insurer to unload its Woori stakes at high prices when the local bourse has been on a bullish run, fueled largely by foreign investors. In May, Samsung Life Insurance is expected to go public, attracting huge funds from equity investors, which could drag down prices of other stocks.
A KDIC official said it is weighing the timing of selling its Woori shares to maximize the retrieval of public funds injected into the financial firm, saying four sales managers ― Samsung Securities, UBS, Daewoo Securities and Credit Swiss ― are closely monitoring market conditions to seize on an appropriate sales timing.
After the planned block sale, KDIC will be left with a 58.97 percent stake in Woori. It plans to sell 50 percent plus one share to strategic investors, including domestic lenders, for management premium. But prior to the full-scale of the privatization, the state insurer plans to dispose of the remaining 8.97 percent in a block sale.