SEOUL - State-run creditors of South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd will likely announce about 5.2 trillion won ($5 billion) in rescue package for the ailing company as soon as Thursday, a local media reported on Wednesday. Korea Development Bank (KDB) and Export-Import Bank of Korea plan to offer about 3.2 trillion won ($2.83 billion) in loans. The package also includes additional 2 trillion won in capital, and KDB, Daewoo’s largest shareholder, plans to convert some of the company’s debt into equity, the online news service of Chosun Ilbo said. The two creditors and Daewoo declined to comment on the report. Daewoo, the world’s largest shipbuilder in terms of current orderbook by tonnage as of September, posted a provisional operating loss of 1.2 trillion won in the September quarter, bringing the loss for the year to date at a record 4.3 trillion won. The high-end offshore plant business has been loss-making for the world’s three biggest shipyards - Daewoo Shipbuilding, Samsung Heavy Industries Co. and Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd - all in South Korea. Daewoo recently said it would sell non-core assets and exit from non-essential businesses as part of a restructuring process. Daewoo’s distress is widely seen as a key driver behind a push by the South Korean government to tackle mounting corporate debt in Asia’s fourth-largest economy. ($1 = 1,132.3000 won)