Korea Telecom selects banks for equity-linked offering

Bankers report the Korean government has sprung one its customary surprises sending out a Request For Proposals (RFP) on Saturday for an equity-linked deal for Korea Telecom. Similar to the way that mandates for the exchangeable into Cho Hung and Woori Financial Holdings were handled in October, convertible experts have expressed their frustration at only being given 36 hours to turn the proposal round and see little point doing so anyway when Merrill Lynch is already believed to have been verbally awarded the mandate.