Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares rose on Wednesday to hit their highest in nearly 23 months, as Samsung Electronics jumped after a Reuters report on its high-end chip production plan and financial stocks rose on optimism around the government's push to boost undervalued stocks.

** The benchmark KOSPI closed up 11.76 points, or 0.44%, at 2,693.57, hitting its highest since April 29, 2022.

** "It was another foreigners-led session, with the focus a little more tilted to the government's 'value-up' programme," Park Kwang-nam, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said.

** Chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 1.09% after Reuters reported its plan to use a chip-making technology championed by rival SK Hynix. SK Hynix ended down 1.27%.

** South Korea's financial regulator is considering easing dividend income tax to make the local stock market more attractive, Bloomberg News reported.

** The Finance-major Index rose 2.02%, the Securities-minor Index jumped 3.66%, while insurance firms added 1.43%.

** Of the total 934 traded issues, 447 shares advanced, while 431 declined.

** Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 334.4 billion won (about $254 million) on the main board.

** The won ended onshore trade at 1,314.5 per dollar, 0.27% lower than its previous close at 1,311.0.

** In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.02 point to 104.81.

** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 1.6 basis points to 3.257%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 0.1 basis point to 3.336%. ($1 = 1,314.5100 won) (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)