ING, a Dutch banking group, has sold its stakes in KB Financial, in an apparent move to rebuild its capital base and break away from its long-term relationship with the Korean banking group.

The move comes after the sale of ING Life to KB Financial broke down between the two sides as KB backed away from the potential deal last year.

ING is currently also looking to unload its shares in a KB insurance subsidiary.

The Amsterdam-based company had been a major shareholder in KB Financial with a 5.02 percent stake, and the recent sale has helped ING gain more than 700 billion won at 37,480 won per share, according to sources and media reports.

The Dutch company also owns a 49 percent stake in KB Life Insurance, an insurance joint venture with KB Financial. KB Life posted a net profit of some 15 billion won in 2012, with sales of 1.5 trillion won, according to its audit filing.

ING could exit by offering its shares to its partner KB Financial, which would have the first right of refusal, or unload its 49 percent ownership via an initial public offering or open bidding to third parties, an industry source suggested.

ING has been trying to liquidate its Asian assets, including ING Life Insurance in Korea, as a means to repay government bailout funds it received during the global financial meltdown in 2008.

By Park Hyong-ki
(hkp@heraldcorp.com)