The number of business group affiliates subject to restrictions on mutual investments and loan guarantees rose in July from a month earlier, the antitrust watchdog said Wednesday.
  
The Fair Trade Commission said the number of firms on its watch list stood at 1,686 as of this month, up two from 1,684 on June 1. The firms all belong to the country's 61 largest business groups.

A total of 12 companies were added, with 10 being removed as they were merged with other affiliates or sold off.

Nine business groups, including Korea Electric Power Corp., SK and Hanwha had more companies on the FTC's updated list, while Samsung, Hyundai Department Store, POSCO and two other conglomerates had less, the watchdog said.

Under South Korea's fair trade law, affiliates of large business groups with assets of 5 trillion won ($4.46 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)