Woori sale to test Korea’s tolerance of foreign bidders

Woori Bank has traded on the main bourse at above 10,000 won ($9.1) per share over the past six trading sessions after staying below 9,000 won in January.

One reason could be that more and more market participants seem to be anticipating the financial authority-led auction process for the state-funded bank to kick off in the coming months.

While Woori’s stock price will likely continue to gain as Financial Services Commission chairman Yim Jong-yong ― who took office a month ago ― pledged to accelerate the new round of sale process, one issue that remains to be seen is whether he will tolerate non-Korean bidders.

His predecessor, Shin Je-yoon, chose not to accept the bid by a Chinese insurance firm for Woori Bank last year. The authority defended its suspension of the bidding process by saying that there was only one bidder and no effective competition.

Some local economists say that foreign bidders should be given an opportunity on par with Korean companies. More so, since Korean investors have actively acquired majority stake in financial firms in emerging markets.

Hongik University economics professor Jun Sung-in was quoted by a news provider as saying that “Korean capital bought a bank in Kazakhstan. And foreign banks have already advanced into the Korean market (through acquisitions).”

Calling the rejection of the Chinese bid as discrimination, he advised that the authority should allow foreign bidders as long as they meet the eligibility criteria.

Many research analysts claim that priority should not be focused on financial sovereignty but on maximizing the retrieval of taxpayers’ money that was poured into Woori Bank in the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Aside from the Chinese insurer, Japanese SBI Holdings ― in collaboration with Korea’s Kyobo Life Insurance ― had reportedly sought to participate in the Woori bid last year. But the joint investors ultimately did not submit a proposal.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has also expressed its interest in the local market. It was one of the few contenders for the South Jeolla Province-based Kwangju Bank, an affiliate of Woori Bank.

Last year, Woori Financial Group’s high-return brokerage unit, Woori Investment & Securities, was handed over to Korea’s agriculture capital-based NH Financial Group.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)