Daewoo Creditors to Complete Takeover

Daewoo Securities Co.’s domestic creditors plan to assume control of South Korea’s No. 1 brokerage today, accelerating the takeover as the company starts to run short of cash. The creditors, many of which were taken over by the government last year, plan to reshuffle the brokerage’s management and complete the takeover today, said a spokesman for Daewoo’s corporate reform committee. The quickening of the takeover--originally expected to be completed next month--indicates that Daewoo Securities’ financial position is deteriorating faster than creditors expected. The move comes as the government considers injecting more cash into and rescheduling the debt of near-insolvent Daewoo Group. The government is trying to avert the nation’s biggest corporate failure, a collapse that could boost unemployment and stymie efforts to rebound from recession. Korean policymakers and financial leaders are meeting today to discuss ways to stabilize financial markets. A government move last week to provide $10 billion of emergency credit to brokerages and investment trust companies didn’t stop a rush of redemptions by investors who bought debt sold by the ailing group.