KT&G Corp, South Korea's main tobacco and ginseng maker, has no plan to float its ginseng unit in the near future despite a request from US investor Carl Icahn, KT&G officials said on Wednesday.

Icahn, who holds less than 5 per cent of the former state-run company, had urged KT&G through his representatives to list the fast-growing ginseng unit and cancel some of its own shares to boost its share price, the officials said.
KT&G's ginseng unit, in which foreign investors own a combined 62 per cent of shares, posted a 62.8 billion won (US$ 63.50 million) net profit in the first nine months of 2005, according to KT&G officials. (pi)