S. Korea Govt To Sell 15% Stake In Korea Tobacco In Sep (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

S. Korea Govt To Sell 15% Stake In Korea Tobacco In Sep
by Park Kyung-hee; 822-732-2165; kyung-hee.park@dowjones.com
Source: The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition, Sunday, 8/29/99

SEOUL -- Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Corp. said Monday that the South Korean
government will sell a 15% stake in the company on the domestic market
Sept. 13 to 15 as part of its efforts to privatize the state-run company.

The 15% equity stake is equivalent to 28.65 million shares. After the
offering, the shares are expected to debut on the Korea Stock Exchange in
early October, according to Korea Tobacco.

LG Securities Co. and Samsung Securities Co. will serve as the lead
managers in the equity sale, it said.

The government's stake in Korea Tobacco will fall to 19.43% after the sale
from the current 34.43%, the company said.

Korea Tobacco plans to offer depositary receipts in the fourth quarter of
this year but details have yet to finalized, including the amount of the
issue, it said.