[Yonhap News Photo]
Woori Bank, South Korea's second-biggest financial group, has been selected as a preferred bidder to buy a controlling stake in Cambodia's microfinance firm Prasac, banking sources said Tuesday.
The bid for a 50-percent stake in Prasac reflects Woori's attempt to increase its business in Southeast Asia. Woori was chosen over a consortium of South Korea's third-largest banking group Hana Financial, US and Chinese buyout funds, the sources said.
At the end of December, Prasac's assets stand at about one billion US dollars.
Tough domestic competition has sent Woori going abroad to find a new source of revenue. In Vietnam and Indonesia, it seeks to sell the service and products of South Korean insurance firms.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
