Samsung hands out 3tr won in bonuses in 2013

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's No. 1 maker of smartphones, is estimated to have handed out around 3.2 trillion won (US$3.03 billion) in bonuses in 2013, market watchers said Monday. The South Korean tech giant's regulatory data showed it had given out 2.4 trillion won worth of incentives through September in 2013, with its average quarterly amount reaching 821.6 billion won, according to (Yonhap) news agency. The yearly estimate will mark a 21% increase from the record 2.7 trillion won posted for fiscal 2012, the data showed. Market watchers said the increase mainly came as Samsung provided special bonuses to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the so-called New Management Initiative, the key business strategy of the group. The tech giant usually provides two productivity incentives (PI) to its employees every year: a cash bonus and a one profit-sharing (PS) bonus of up to 50% of annual paychecks.