From as early as this year, domestic companies that participate in inter-Korean economic projects to a certain degree may be exempted from the equity investment ceiling imposed on conglomerates.

The Fair Trade Commission announced Friday that a related bill including the new measures, first proposed by ruling party lawmaker Kim Hyun-mi, had been approved by a parliamentary committee meeting.

If the bill is enacted into law, local firms that meet certain conditions and those approved by the government as an official partner in inter-Korean projects would be exempt from the local investment ceiling regulation.

Currently, subsidiaries of conglomerates with assets of more than six trillion won are banned from making equity investment in affiliates or other companies in excess of 25 percent of their net worth.