Cashable assets held by South Korean business groups climbed 10.9 percent in the first quarter from three months earlier, as they reduced investment amid economic uncertainty, data showed Wednesday.

South Korea’s top 10 business groups held 147.3 trillion won ($127.5 billion) in cashable assets as of end-March, compared to 132.8 trillion won tallied in end-December 2012, the data compiled by CEO Score showed.

Cashable assets cover cash, cash equivalents and other financial products with a maturity of less than three months. A fall in cashable assets indicates a deterioration in corporate liquidity.

The increase in cashable assets came as the continuation of economic uncertainty at home and abroad dented the business sentiment, market watchers said.

The tallied conglomerates’ investment came to 18.4 trillion won in the January-March period, falling sharply from 20.64 trillion won posted a year earlier.

Samsung Group, which holds Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s top maker of smartphones, under its wing, saw its cashable assets jump 11.2 percent in March from three months earlier to reach 55.8 trillion won. However, the tech giant slashed its investment by 21 percent on-year. (Yonhap News)