Samsung launches share buy back scheme

SEOUL - Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance, the South Korean non-life insurer, plans to buy back won80bn worth of its own shares to increase its share price, a company official said yesterday. The decision was agreed at a board meeting this week that purchases would be made between May 2 and August 2, according to the official. Shares in Samsung Fire, an affiliate of the Samsung Group, have tumbled nearly 50% since February, weighed down by a steady slide in the Korean market.