Hyundai merchant marine to sell stake in Shinhan financial for liquidity

Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. said Tuesday it will sell its stake in Shinhan Financial Group within six months to raise cash as part of a self-rescue plan by its parent company, Hyundai Group. The country's No. 2 shipping company will sell its 2.08 million shares, expected to fetch about 93 billion won (US$87.8 million), the firm said in a regulatory filing. The stake sale is one of a string of measures by Hyundai Group announced last month to raise 3.3 trillion won. Hyundai Merchant Marine also said it will accept voluntary retirement requests by 26 employees. As pat of its efforts to dispel a cash crunch, the shipping company raised 56.3 billion won by selling its containers in mid-December. The firm also sold a total of 71,712 containers to secure 180 billion won last year. Hyundai Merchant Marine also secured 46.5 billion won by selling 11.3 million shares in KB Financial Group Inc. It is set to boost liquidity by selling its cranes and issuing new shares.