SEOUL, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- South Korean National Pension Service decided against bidding for Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., officials said Thursday.
The country's largest pension fund gave up its plans because of the current global financial turmoil, the officials said, Yonhap news agency reported.
State-run Korea Development Bank and a government asset management agency are seeking to sell up to 50.4 percent of their stake in Daewoo Shipbuilding.
In August, the pension fund, with assets of about $194 billion, had planned to invest up to $1.27 billion in a joint bid for the world's third-largest shipyard, the report said. The fund had been in talks with several groups to pick a partner.
Yonhap said Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world's biggest shipyard, has also been interested in its rival shipbuilder.
"The situation is not good for the fund to make an investment into Daewoo Shipbuilding," a National Pension Service official was quoted as saying, adding the fund is likely to find another source for investment at next week's meeting.
