SKorea offers liquidity to credit-strapped firms

South Korea will offer local banks and financial firms a credit lifeline if necessary in the wake of the global financial turmoil, a minister said Tuesday.
"We will support banks and financial firms to actively resolve problems that small and medium enterprises have," said Minister of Strategy and Finance Kang Man-Soo.
"The Bank of Korea (central bank) will provide liquidity if necessary at an appropriate time to help firms avoid a temporary liquidity crunch."
Kang was speaking after a special meeting with the heads of the supervisory Financial Services Commission and the central bank to consider the effect of the global credit crunch.
Despite the latest US financial upheavals, Kang said local financial institutions are maintaining a sound level of foreign currency liquidity.
A top business leader said separately that Korean businesses are finding funding harder to obtain in the wake of the US crisis.