Korea sets deadline for Woori sale at November

Hana Financial is seen as a potential bidder for $6bln sale of 57% stake in Woori.

South Korea on Friday set a Nov. 26 deadline to receive letters of intent for its estimate $6 billion sale of a 57 percent stake in Woori Finance Holdings in what could be the country's biggest ever banking deal.

The Woori privatisation is part of the government's effort to claw back public funds injected to recapitalise banks in the 1997-98 Asian crisis.

State-run Korea Deposit Insurance Corp (KDIC) said on Friday it would put an advertisement in major newspapers on Saturday to invite bidders for the stake.

KDIC said bidders would have to take at least 4 percent of the entire stake or to merge with the country's third-largest financial group.

JPMorgan, Samsung Securities and Daewoo Securities are the investment banking advisers to the government on the Woori sale that will take place in conjunction with the sale of two regional banks, Kwangju and Kyongnam Bank.

The government sketched out the privatisation plan to pick a preferred bidder by the end of this year and to decide on a final buyer during the first quarter of next year, a KDIC spokesman said.

View the full report in Reuters