Samsung Electronics has pledged to boost its 2016 dividend payout more than a third to Won4tn ($3.5bn) and consider restructuring as it seeks to ease investors’ anxieties over meagre returns and poor corporate governance.
The moves, which fall short of a proposal last month by activist hedge fund Elliott Management, were positively received by analysts, who suggested that the South Korean group was edging towards overdue reform.
In October, Elliott launched a campaign for a slice of Samsung’s $60bn cash pile by calling for a special $27bn payout to shareholders. Elliott, which at the time revealed a $1.2bn stake in the company, also proposed that the group split into holding and operating companies — a development widely seen as necessary to improve corporate governance while allowing the founding Lee family to retain control.