Investment by Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top smartphone and flat-screen TV maker, jumped 22 percent in the first half of the year compared with a year ago despite bleak economic circumstances, a report showed Tuesday.

The tech behemoth spent a total of 19.7 trillion won (US$17.4 billion) on facility investment as well as research and development

(R&D) in the January-June period, compared with 16.2 trillion won the previous year, according to Samsung's semiannual business report.

The company's R&D spending jumped 15.8 percent on-year to 5.8 trillion won over the cited period, with the amount accounting for 6.2 percent of the company's revenue in the six-month period.

Meanwhile, the report showed that facility investment climbed 24.8 percent from a year earlier to 13.9 trillion won in the first half. A total of 9.7 trillion was spent to improve Samsung's semiconductor business, while 2.6 trillion won was used for its liquid-crystal display business.

Samsung projected annual facility investment to reach around 25 trillion won this year, which is expected to drive overall R&D and capital spending beyond last year's record 33 trillion won.

The record investment spending outlook comes as robust smartphone sales are driving the company's earnings to a new high.

In the first half, the company saw revenue jump 21.5 percent on-year to 92.9 trillion won, while operating profit soared 87.7 percent to 12.6 trillion won. (Yonhap News)