The number of local subsidiaries established abroad by South Korea's 30 biggest business groups rose gradually in recent years, a report said Sunday, as they actively made inroads into overseas markets to survive the keen competition.

The figure surged to 3,332 last year from 2,650 in 2013 and 3,053 in 2015, according to market researcher Chaebol.com. Chaebol refers to South Korea's major business groups.

By country, China accounted for the biggest share with 753 or 22.1 percent of the total.
 

China's share has fallen gradually from 28.4 percent in 2011 and is expected to drop to less than 20 percent this year amid the Beijing government's economic retaliation against South Korea for Seoul's deployment of a US missile defense system despite Beijing's objections.

The comparable figure for the United States climbed 51 to 473 last year from a year earlier.

South Korean chaebols' local corporations in Britain and Japan also jumped by 31 and 21 to 97 and 117 last year, respectively.

Vietnam also witnessed a dramatic increase to 140 last year from 98 in 2013, 105 in 2014 and 122 in 2015.

Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore have 137, 118 and 99 subsidiaries each as of late last year, up about 10 from the previous year. (Yonhap)