The retained earnings rate of Korea’s top 10 conglomerates reached record high levels in 2013 despite their pledges to increase investments and hiring, a report showed Sunday.

The internal cash reserves of the 70 listed companies belonging to the largest business groups whose fiscal year ended in December stood at 1,578.5 percent, the report by FN Guide said. The figure marks a 164.3 percentage point gain from a retention rate of 1,414.2 percent tallied for the year before.

The recent numbers represent a surge compared with retention rates hovering in the low 900 percent range reported in 2008. “Retention rate” refers to a firm’s surplus funds divided by capital, and is used as an indicator of how much earnings a firm opts to hold in reserve.

A higher retention rate is a mark of a healthy corporate financial status, but it also means companies are sitting on big cash reserves without spending them on new investments that can lead to hiring.

FN Guide said that based on annual reports submitted to the Korea Exchange and the Financial Supervisory Service, big companies held 444.2 trillion won ($427.9 billion) in cash, up 11.3 percent from 399.2 trillion won last year. (Yonhap)