South Korea’s top 30 conglomerates invested nearly 58 trillion won ($53 billion) in January-September this year, up 42.6 percent from the same period last year, led mainly by global memory chip giant Samsung Electronics’ heavy capital investment amid strong global demand for semiconductors.

According to Seoul-based corporate evaluation website CEO Score on Sunday, capital expenditures of 261 companies affiliated to Korea’s 30 largest business groups in January-September period are estimated at 57.8 trillion won, up 42.6 percent from a year earlier. CEO Score compiled the data based on the quarterly reports filed by individual companies and the total figure does not include research and development spending.

Investment in tangible assets such as facilities jumped 49.8 percent on year to 52.3 trillion won but spending on intangible assets such as industrial property rights shrank 2 percent on year to 5.6 trillion won.

The country’s largest conglomerate Samsung made the largest 20.3 trillion won capital investment followed by SK and LG with 10.2 trillion won and 7.7 trillion won, respectively. The combined capital expenditure of the top three reached 38.2 trillion won and made up nearly two-thirds of the top 30 Korean conglomerates’ total capital investment.

By Yoon Jin-ho and Cho Jeehyun

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]