Reports: S. Korean Firms Bid For ING Units

Two Korean finance firms have submitted bids to buy parts of the Asian operations of Dutch banking giant ING Group, reports said Monday.

Korea Life Insurance, the country's second-largest life insurer, has bid for ING's Southeast Asian operations, which cover Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand, Dow Jones Newswires said.

Analysts estimate the deal would be valued around three trillion won ($2.61 billion, 2.13 billion euros)) to four trillion won, it said.

In the Netherlands, an ING spokesperson told Agence France Presse: "We're exploring options for a sale for the Asian insurance business," but declined to provide details.

The bid is part of Korea Life's efforts to expand abroad -- at present its only overseas presence is in Vietnam.

KB Financial has submitted a separate bid for ING Life Korea in a deal worth around 3.5 trillion won, Yonhap news agency said.

The country's second-biggest banking group has been trying to grow its non-banking business as it is currently heavily reliant its Kookmin Bank unit for revenue.

Multinational life insurer AIA Group is also believed to have submitted a bid for ING Life Korea, Yonhap said.

Korea Life and KB Financial declined to comment. ING plans to announce preferred bidders at the end of this month.