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The state-run Korea Development Bank will be privatized and nurtured into a large investment bank similar to Goldman Sachs or Merrill Lynch, according to a plan by president-elect Lee Myung-bak¡¯s transition team. Kwak Seung-jun, a leading member of the Transition Committee, announced the decision at a press conference after a briefing by the Ministry of Finance and Economy.
The incoming government is to lift restrictions of non-banking companies¡¯ entrance into the banking industry, which will allow institutional investors to take over KDB. The committee hopes the privatization of KDB will be completed within the tenure of the next government, prompting expectations that the process will start as early as late this year.
The government will spend W20 trillion (US$1=W939) of the profit from the sale of KDB on creating a new state-run financial institute tentatively named the ¡°Korean Investment Fund,¡± which will serve as financial support for small and medium-sized companies.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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