Government plans to raise 586.2bn won from selling stake in IBK this year

The government plans to sell 586.2 billion won (US$553.4 million) worth of its shares in the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) this year as part of efforts to raise money to meet its growing fiscal need, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The amount of non-tax revenue that the government wants to raise through the stake sale was reflected in its budget plan for this year, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. The move comes after the government sold 49.44 million shares, or an 8.9 percent stake, in the policy bank for small and medium-sized enterprises last year through which it raised 565 billion won in non-tax revenue. Currently, the government and other government-related agencies hold a combined 63.4 percent stake in the IBK. Earlier last year, the government said that it will trim its shareholding in the bank to 50 percent plus one share in order to raise about 1.7 trillion won in non-tax revenue. The government is seeking to sell its IBK stake in order to secure money needed to push for diverse state-led welfare programs, many of which were promised by President Park Geun-hye during her presidential campaign in 2012.