13537.jpg (Photo : Reuters)
Samsung said on Friday that it is considering to increase its dividend payout by up to 50 percent this year as an effort to grow its share price amid profit declines.
The South Korean tech giant said that it is eyeing a "special increase" in its dividend payouts for investors by around 30 percent to 50 percent. The board will be giving its decision about the dividend payouts increase by January 2015, after which an approval will be sought during the annual shareholder meeting on March.
The announcement from the largest smartphone maker in the world comes a year after its position as number one in China was snatched by local manufacturer Xiaomi, which is now the world's third largest.
The decision also follows Samsung's November announcement that it is planning to buy back shares worth $2 billion, a first from Samsung in seven years.
Samsung explained the move, saying that it is considering the dividend payout increase to boost the firm's value to its shareholders, and as well as to help revitalize the economy of South Korea.
Park Jung-hoon, the fund manager for HDC Asset Management, said that Samsung had "no excuse" not to have a dividend payout increase as it has about 60 trillion won ($55 billion) in its bank account. He is expecting that the new dividend payout would be around 20,000 won for each share.
Samsung already announced earlier this year in January that it has plans for a dividend payout increase in 2014, but it was unchanged even until July. The 2013 dividend payout totaled to around 2.2 trillion won, with each share at 13,800 won.
