Treasury stock cancellations hit record high in H1 on value-up scheme

SEOUL, July 2 (Yonhap) -- Listed firms in South Korea continued to retire their own stocks in the first quarter of the year on the back of the government-led corporate value-up scheme that launched in June last year, data showed Wednesday.

According to the bourse operator Korea Exchange (KRX), treasury stock retirements reached a record 15.5 trillion won (US$11.44 billion) in the January-June period, already exceeding the 13.9 trillion won worth of treasury stock cancellations for the whole year of 2024.

The data also showed that they purchased 9.5 trillion won worth of their own stocks in the first quarter.

According to the KRX, a total of 156 companies had made filings over their value-up schemes as of end-June.

Their combined market value accounted for 43.9 percent of the total stock market capitalization, the data showed.

Their stock prices have gained 30.9 percent on average so far this year through June, slightly higher than the benchmark stock index's 28 percent advance, the data showed.

They also had decided to deliver a combined 37.6 trillion won in cash dividends in the first quarter, up 10 percent from a year earlier.

sam@yna.co.kr
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