Citibank Korea plans to actively support Korean enterprises seeking mergers and acquisitions in overseas markets this year.

“In a bid to make Korean firms hold opportunity to take over many M&A targets, we seek to enhance financing to them abroad,” a Citibank executive said Monday.

He said there are many M&A chances in overseas markets in the wake of the global economic slowdown.

For the support, he said the bank “is poised to open the “Korea Desk,” a financial network of Citibank Korea, in three or four countries in South Asia and South America.”

The Korea Desk has been operating in five countries ― China, India, Russia, Slovakia and the U.S.

The bank is also providing unrivaled global banking solutions taking advantage of its parent Citigroup’s business networks in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions.

“Aside from conglomerates, small- and mid-sized enterprises will be able to enjoy our global banking services,” the executive said.

Korea has become the 10th-largest acquirer in the cross-border mergers and acquisitions markets, overtaking Germany and France.

According to data of the Korea Capital Market Institute, Korean companies’ takeover of foreign players in the M&A markets was equivalent to $11.2 billion (12.7 trillion won) in combined asset value for the first 10 months of 2011.

In 2010, Korean firms spent a net $9.9 billion on overseas M&A deals in 2010, a 51-fold increase from a net $190 million five years earlier.

Korea ranked 10th in the value of takeover prices and seventh among members of the Group of 20.

Undermined by persistent eurozone turmoil, many U.S. and European companies were put up for sale, prompting companies from South Korea and other emerging economies to gobble them up, the institute said.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)