Hyundai Heavy Industries Co, steelmaker POSCO and two other Korean companies officially expressed interest Wednesday in acquiring a majority stake in Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co, state banking officials said.

The state-run Korea Development Bank is arranging the sale of a 50.4-per-cent stake in the world's third-largest shipbuilder at an estimated cost of 7 trillion won (6.45 billion dollars).

Energy- and construction-focused GS Group and Hanwha Group, led by chemicals maker Hanwha Corp, have also submitted letters of intent for the acquisition.

The bank is to pick a bidder by October.

Daewoo Shipbuilding was taken over by creditors in 2000 after its parent, the Daewoo Group, collapsed under a mountain of debt.