Considering stock split to placate existing investors: Samsung

The company said that they had been looking into a possible split 'for a while' but was still debating the benefits of such a move

The world's largest smartphone maker, Samsung Electronics, said today it was considering a stock split that would placate existing investors and attract new ones with a more affordable share price.

Head of investor relations Robert Yi said the South Korean tech giant had been looking into a possible split 'for a while' but was still debating the benefits of such a move.

"We know it would have a psychological impact, but need to look further at how that might affect the company's long-term value," Yi told reporters.

Samsung has been under growing pressure to boost shareholder returns as its stock price has been battered by a series of quarterly profit falls.

Samsung shares were trading Tuesday at 1.356 million won ($1,250)compared to a high of 1.470 million won in June last year.

Samsung is currently in the middle of a $2.0 billion share buyback process announced in November to appease disgruntled shareholders.

With a market capitalisation of about $185 billion, Samsung accounts for nearly 17% of the weighting on South Korea's benchmark Kospi composite index.