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June 05, 2009
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The state-run Korea Development Bank yesterday conferred with key figures in the government and state-run financial institutions of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to attract more investment from the cash-flushed Middle East. KDB explained its current investment plans, including the formation of a so-called corporate restructuring fund; upcoming sales of major Korean enterprises, including Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine, and other real estate and infrastructure projects. At the conference, held at KDB’s headquarters in central Seoul, the bank presented details about its ongoing Sangam DMC building construction financing drive and the second Yeongdong highway express project. Officials also explained the bank’s plan to form a fund aimed at salvaging cash-strapped local companies by buying some of their subsidiaries, then selling them back to the original owners years later when market conditions improve. The bank, which faces privatization within the next five years, has been struggling to reinvent itself as a major investment bank to rival its formidable private sector and global peers. “KDB, the Abu Dhabi Investment Company and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency will sign on June 5 a memorandum of understanding to share investment information and expand joint investment opportunities,” the KDB said in a statement yesterday. The new agreement also includes sharing information about project financing deals, natural resource development, privatization of state-run companies and assisting with merger and acquisition deals in the two countries. “We expect the conference and the MOU signing to form a mutually beneficial business model for the Korean and Middle Eastern financial sectors and increase the Middle East region’s direct investment in Korea,” KDB chief Min Euoo-sung said in the statement. By Jung Ha-won [hawon@joongang.co.kr] |
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