SKorea's KDB Financial eyeing SE Asian banks

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South Korea's state-funded KDB Financial Group Inc. is seeking to buy Southeast Asian banks, instead of merging with Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), as the market expected, the group's chief said Sunday.

"KDB Financial is interested in the Asian market and currently watching two or three banks in Southeast Asia," KDB Financial Group Chairman Min Euoo-Sung was quoted as telling Yonhap News Agency.

"Basically, KDB Financial is more interested in overseas banks than KEB," he said.

Min said KEB became prohibitively expensive with its shares rising nearly three-fold to around 14,000 won (about 12 dollars) from late last year.

Min's remarks dampened market speculation that KDB Financial might take over KEB to diversify the state-owned lender's funding sources. KEB is currently owned by US buyout fund Lone Star Funds.

KDB Financial Group hopes to buy foreign banks in Southeast Asian countries including Indonesia, to beef up its capacity for loan operations, Min told journalists last week.

Min also said the group would seek to enter developing Asian markets in need of financing services for infrastructure, including railroads or ports.

He told Yonhap on Sunday that the group will try to wrap up the purchase of an overseas bank by 2010 before the company's envisioned stock market listing.

KDB Financial Group was created in October as a holding company comprising state-run Korea Development Bank and four other affiliates as part of a government plan to make it a publicly traded company.



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