Shares of listed companies owned by South Korea's Samsung Group rose on Monday. Some subsidiaries of the family conglomerate are expected to raise dividends to help heirs of late chairman Lee Kun-hee use their equity holdings to raise money to pay estate taxes, analysts said.
Lee Jae-Yong, vice-chairman, owns a 17.48 per cent stake in Samsung, which soared 21 per cent in early trading. According to a report by Korea Investment & Securities, some subsidiaries of Samsung Group are expected to raise dividends. At one point, Samsung Life rose 16 per cent, Samsung SDS rose 10 per cent, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance rose 4.9 per cent and Samsung Electronics rose 1.5 per cent.
Lee Kun-hee, who transformed Samsung Electronics from an imitation South Korean home appliance maker into the world's largest maker of smartphones, televisions and memory chips, died on the 25th at the age of 78.
Mr. Lee died Sunday, accompanied by his family, but did not mention the cause of death, the company said in a statement. His family will hold a private funeral. He has been hospitalized since a heart attack in 2014, and he was treated for lung cancer in the late 1990s.
Lee Kun-hee is the richest man in South Korea; he is trying to cultivate innovation and challenge.Sony Group CorpDuring the period of his competitors, he told his employees to "change everything except his wife and children." His net worth is estimated at $20.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Samsung, South Korea's largest chaebol, has been taken over by his only son since Lee Kun-hee suffered a heart attack.
"President Li is a real visionary who has transformed Samsung from a local company into the world's leading innovator and industrial giant," the company said. "his spirit will last forever."
His son, Lee Jae-yong, has been the de facto leader of the group since he was hospitalized in 2014, but it is unclear whether he will succeed his father, as has long been expected. Mr Lee is currently embroiled in two legal disputes with South Korean prosecutors over bribery and corruption charges related to inheritance.
In fact, Mr Lee, who denies any wrongdoing, was supposed to attend the trial of one of the lawsuits on Monday, but is expected to stay in hospital with his family. Samsung did not say who would take over as president of Lee Kun-hee.