Prospective buyers of Hyundai¡¯s Sosan Farm flooding HEC

Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. (HEC) said Tuesday that the company is being flooded with people hoping to purchase its Sosan Farm after it unveiled a plan to sell it to the private sector.

An official of HEC in charge of the land sale said that since the Dong-A Ilbo reported the news Monday, an increasing number of people have expressed their willingness to purchase the land. The number has already passed the 300 mark, and would be enough to buy the entire Sosan Farm, which covers a total of 31.23 million pyong.

Among the prospective buyers are people who visited the HEC headquarters in Kye-dong, Jongno, central Seoul, in person and wanted to buy the Sosan B district (11.87 million pyong) in bulk at the official value of 11,500 won per pyong. On Tuesday afternoon, an American financier offered to lend US$500 million to HEC at the interest rate of LIBOR (London Inter-bank Offered Rate) plus a 1% spread in return for taking the farm as a security for the loan. Hyundai officials said that they are considering the offer.

The company decided to hold negotiations on the land sale with those offering prices close to the appraised value of 23,000 won first. Officials said that as the number of aspirants is increasing, they will not accept further applications for the land purchase through the Internet.

Hwang Jae-Seong jsonhng@donga.com