Asian Tech Press (Feb 24) -- South Korean chipmaker Samsung Electronics has already cut 13 subsidiaries in 2021.

Samsung Electronics has 228 subsidiaries by the end of 2021, down 13 from 241 in 2020, according to a report released last week.

Korean media Business Korea said this is the biggest drop in five years, following the acquisition of car audio electronics company Harman in 2016 and the reduction of 18 subsidiaries in 2017.

Some analysts believe that Samsung Electronics liquidates or sells underperforming subsidiaries before making large-scale acquisitions.

The number of Samsung Electronics' subsidiaries has been declining after peaking at 270 in 2017, according to the statistics.