UPDATE 1-S.Korea KAMCO may speed up Daewoo Intl stake sale

(Adds quote on company)

HONG KONG, June 24 (Reuters) - Korea Asset Management Corp's (KAMCO) chief executive said on Wednesday an improving economic climate was allowing the state debt clearer to move more quickly with the planned sale of a stake in Daewoo International Corp (047050.KS).

KAMCO is prepared to be able to sell a stake in Daewoo International "within this year," Lee Chol-hwi, KAMCO chairman and chief executive, told a conference in Hong Kong.

The biggest asset of Daewoo International, a trading and energy development company, is an oil and gas field in Myanmar.

The chairman said that putting a price tag on the stake was difficult, adding only "it's a profitable company." He was speaking through a translator at a conference here, hosted by Maeil Business Newspaper.

KAMCO, a state debt clearer, owns 35.5 percent of Daewoo International, an energy developing firm. It said in April that it would mull the timing for the stake sale in the second half of this year.

KAMCO's stake in the company is worth 988.9 billion won ($770.6 million) according to the current value of the shares. (Additional reporting by Kim Yeon-hee) (Reporting by Michael Flaherty; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)