HEC self-rescue plan announcement postponed

The Hyundai Group disclosed Friday that it would postpone the announcement of a self-rescue plan for Hyundai Engineering and Construction (HEC). A senior Hyundai Group official said that it is Hyundai¡¯s basic principle to prepare a clear self-rescue plan that the market can trust, adding that negotiations among affiliates are still in progress.

The official said that a definite date for the announcement of a self-rescue plan cannot be set at the moment as such a plan can be completed only after the issue of the sale of the HEC office building is settled.

The group is pushing a plan to have its affiliates buy parts of the HEC building in Kye-dong. Chung Mong-Hun, chairman of Hyundai Asan Corporation, plans to ask the affiliates to buy the Kye-dong building over the weekend and in the coming week.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), for which Chung Mong-Joon is an advisor as well as a majority shareholder, disclosed that it would not buy the Kye-dong building.

The Kye-dong building used by HEC is valued at 170 billion won. The 6-storey main building and the 6-storey annex have offices, a gym, parking facilities and other amenities.

Lee Byong-Ki eye@donga.com