South Korea's top conglomerates have expanded their holdings of cashable assets over the past five years, data showed Sunday, due mainly to their reluctance to increase investment amid a prolonged economic slump.
The combined amount of cashable assets held by 76 listed companies owned by the country's top 10 conglomerates came to 148.52 trillion won (US$144.61 billion) as of end-March, up 56.1 percent from the 95.1 trillion won five years earlier, the data compiled by conglomerate researcher CEO Score showed.