The number of business group affiliates subject to restrictions on mutual investments and loan guarantees fell by 22 in November from a month earlier, the antitrust watchdog said Monday.
  

The Fair Trade Commission said the number of firms on its watch list came in at 1,656 as of Sunday, down from 1,678 on Oct. 1. Nine conglomerate affiliates were added, while 31 were removed.

All the companies belong to the country's 61 largest business groups.
  

A total of nine business groups, including Korea Electric Power Corp., Lotte and Hyundai Heavy Industries had more companies on the FTC's updated list, while 13 groups, including Samsung, KT and Dongbu, had fewer units under their respective wings.
  

Of those added, seven new companies were set up during the past month, while two others were acquired through stake purchases.
  

In regards to companies taken off the latest list, 11 were merged, and two were sold in stake sales, with two others being closed outright.
  

Under South Korea's fair trade law, affiliates of large business groups with assets of 5 trillion won (US$4.9 billion) or more are restricted from making equity investments or offering loan guarantees to one another.
  

These rules are in place to prevent large companies from expanding their areas of business indiscriminately and to make certain they do not expose themselves to risks by overreaching their capabilities. (Yonhap)