CORRECTED - CORRECTED-AIG to raise $1.6 bln for S.Korea building project

Wed Apr 4, 2007 1:44am EDT
 
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(Corrects first paragraph to say $1.6 billion, not $1.5 billion and to say funding, not loans)

SEOUL, April 4 (Reuters) - American International Group (AIG.N) said on Wednesday it had secured funding totalling $1.6 billion for the construction of a high-rise building in central Seoul.

AIG Korean Real Estate Development YH, the developer of the International Finance Centre building in the capital city, has secured a loan agreement slightly topping 1 trillion won ($1.07 billion) from a consortium led by South Korean banks, it said in a statement.

Top local lender Kookmin Bank 060000.KS and second-ranked Shinhan Bank, a unit of Shinhan Financial Group (055550.KS), are part of the consortium, as well as unlisted Samsung Life, the country's top life insurance firm.

The remaining 500 billion won was being funded by international equity investors according to a previous agreement, a spokesman for the construction project added, declining to identify them.

The 5.4 million-square-foot building, to be located in the financial district of Youido, will host commercial offices, a hotel, and a shopping mall, and is part of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's plan to attract global financial institutions. ($1=936.4 Won) (Additional reporting by Rafael Nam)

 
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