Korea Eximbank needs to increase capital

The new head of South Korea's state-run trade bank on Wednesday stressed the need to increase the bank's capital in a bid to beef up its capacity to secure overseas projects.

 "Our bank needs to refurbish capital in order to join a large scale of overseas projects and compete with global peers," said Kim Yong-hwan, president of the Export-Import Bank of Korea. Kim took office on Monday with a three-year term.

Eximbank's equity capital stood at US$6.13 billion as of the end of December and its capital adequacy ratio reached around 11 percent.

 The government is seeking to increase the capital of Eximbank by around 1 trillion won in a bid to help expand the lender's capacity to support exporters and clinch a large scale of overseas projects.

   Kim also said that his bank will decide within the week whether to exercise a "tag-along" right in selling its 6.25 percent stake in Korea Exchange Bank.