South Korean firms are expected to keep their dividend payouts low this year, with the portion of their payouts against profit far below that of their global peers, data showed on Wednesday.

According to Daewoo Securities Co., who compiled the data, South Korean firms are forecast to log a dividend payout ratio of 13.7 percent this year, compared with Taiwanese rivals’ 43.56 percent and Indian firms’ 21.9 percent.

The ratio refers to the percentage of earnings a company gives to shareholders in the form of dividends.

Chinese firms’ average dividend payout ratio is estimated at 29.6 percent for the year. Comparable figures for Brazilian and Japanese companies were estimated at 38.5 percent and 26.24 percent, respectively, the data showed. Local companies have been miserly in giving back to shareholders, a key reason why South Korean stocks are undervalued.

The latest data from the bourse operator Korea Exchange show South Korea’s dividend payout ratio at 22.4 percent, far below the average of 47.7 percent in other countries.

Analysts said although local firms’ earnings for the year are smaller than expected, they are set to increase dividend payouts amid growing calls from the government and shareholders to do so.

Policymakers, led by Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan, blame the country’s conglomerates for sitting on too much cash, disrupting the money flow into households that need to spend more to prop up domestic consumption. (Yonhap)