| Korea Development Bank (KDB) has expressed interest in buying a global bank. Last Friday it said that it was `open to the acquisition of an overseas financial institution' with Lehman Brothers Holding leading the pack of its potential interests. These comments sent up Lehman's share price 12%. However regulators are concerned. They do not believe that state-run institutions should play a leading role in the purchase of foreign companies not only for the financial risks they would incur but for the potential political and regulatory problems that might ensue. The Korean government is planning on privatizing the KDB by 2012 in hopes that it will turn into a global investment bank. |
