SEOUL, Jan 31 (Reuters) - South Korea's financial regulator said it would seek to change dividend payment practices of listed companies, to enable investors to find how much they would be paid before making investment decisions.
The Financial Services Commission said in a statement that revisions to related laws and guidelines covering the dividend payment process would help bring the local stock market closer to global standards. The proposed changes are part of a broader push by South Korea to make its stock market more attractive for foreign investors.
Currently in South Korea, most companies finalise their lists of shareholders entitled to annual dividends at the end of each year, before deciding on their payout amounts at shareholders' meetings held in the following spring.
The regulator aims to reverse that order, by encouraging companies to set dividend amounts before closing shareholder books. It expects that this would also persuade companies to offer bigger dividends.
The Commission plans to complete all the necessary steps, including revision of the Capital Markets Act, so that listed companies can adopt the new dividend procedure in time for the annual dividends for 2023, according to the statement. (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
