SEOUL, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The South Korean government logged a double-digit growth in dividend income in the fiscal year of 2023, the finance ministry said Thursday.
The government received 2.13 trillion won (1.5 billion U.S. dollars) in dividend income from 17 state-run companies last year, up 72.1 percent compared to the previous year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
The average dividend payout ratio, or the proportion of dividend to net income, was 39.87 percent in 2023, slightly down from 39.93 percent in the prior year.
Among the 40 state-run companies, 23 public firms failed to pay dividend last year due to net loss and loss carried-over.
Three major state-run banks paid a record dividend as their earnings advanced on the back of high interest rates.
The Korea Development Bank paid the biggest dividend of 878.1 billion won (637.5 million dollars), followed by the Industrial Bank of Korea with 466.8 billion won (338.9 million dollars).
The Incheon International Airport Corp. provided 224.8 billion won (163.2 million dollars) in dividend income, while the Export-Import Bank of Korea paid 184.7 billion won (134.1 million dollars). ■
