The number of small shareholders in global tech giant Samsung Electronics surpassed 5 million amid massive stock investment by local retail investors, data showed Monday.

Some 5.18 million investors held shares in the top-cap company as of the end of September, triple the tally a year earlier, according to the data from Samsung.

Market watchers said a considerable number of local retail investors had bought into Samsung Electronics this year, given foreigners' continued selling of the most coveted stock in the country.

Retail investors bought a net 32.9 trillion won ($27.9 billion) worth of Samsung stocks in the first nine months of the year.

Analysts said investors were probably drawn to the country's most valuable company amid a surge in market liquidity and tougher government regulations on the housing market.

The surge in the number of small investors is seen as indicating their greater clout in Samsung, the world's leading smartphone and memory chipmaker, but this month, they sold a net 486 billion won worth of Samsung Electronics stocks due to a slump in its stock price.

After closing at 91,000 won on January 11 this year, Samsung Electronics has been on slide, finishing at 71,400 won on Monday. (Yonhap)