April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] The number of holding companies in Korea increased sharply this year amid the government’s efforts to encourage businesses to have more transparent and simpler shareholding structures, official data showed on Nov. 2.

A total of 193 holding firms were registered with the Fair Trade Commission, the country’s antitrust body, as of September this year, up from 162 tallied a year earlier.

It marked the largest on-year rise since the holding company system was introduced in 1999 under the fair trade law, said the FTC.

Also, the number of holding companies affiliated with large business groups on the FTC’s watch list rose to 22 from eight over the one-year period.

The average assets of the 193 holding firms came to 1.4 trillion won in 2017, slightly down from 1.52 trillion won posted a year earlier. Their debt-equity ratio averaged 38.4 percent this year, down from 40.2 percent.

Heads of conglomerates and their family members owned a combined stake of 57.7 percent on average in the holding companies, according to the FTC.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)