SK Inc., the holding company of South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate SK Group, said it plans to buy back 200 billion won ($148 million) of its own shares, which is equivalent to some 1 percent of the market cap, the firm said Tuesday.

The firm’s board of directors on Aug. 30 approved the share repurchase to enhance shareholders’ value. It marks the first step to implement the shareholders return policy and strengthen the market confidence, according to the firm.

The buyback process will take over a six-month period via a trustee agreement with a brokerage firm. Upon the expiration of the trust agreement, all repurchased shares will be cancelled to bolster shareholders’ value.

Meanwhile, SK Inc. and its subsidiary SK Innovation recently invested $250 million in TerraPower, a US venture founded by billionaire Bill Gates. TerraPower is a developer of small-sized nuclear power reactors, called small modular reactors. It was part of a total $750 million fundraising round co-led by Gates.

In the first six months of the year, SK Group's consolidated net profit gained 32 percent to 4.69 trillion won on-year, according to Yonhap Infomax.(mkjung@heraldcorp.com)