Samsung Electronics Co. shares surged Monday after South Korea’s biggest company announced a surprise plan late Friday to buy back about 10 trillion won ($7.2 billion) of its own stock over the next year.

Shares of Samsung Electronics jumped on Monday after the company unveiled a surprise plan to buy back about 10 trillion South Korean won ($7.19 billion) worth of its own stock over the next 12 months.

Samsung Electronics plans to buy back shares worth 10 trillion won ($7.17 billion) over a one-year period to boost shareholder value, it said in a regulatory filing submitted after the market closed on Friday.

The South Korean technology giant’s stock repurchase plan comes amid investor concerns over its flagship memory-chip business, which is missing out on the artificial intelligence boom.

Samsung Electronics Co. plans to buy back about 10 trillion won ($7.2 billion) of its own stock over the next year, putting in motion one of the larger shareholder return programs in its history.

Analysts expect the buyback to provide a short-term catalyst to the stock, which slumped more than 30% this year before Monday’s jump.

The prospect of a buyback worth trillions of South Korean won has cheered investors after a disappointing year. View on euronews