(KT&G) Capital Group has upped its stake in KT&G to 7.21 percent as the latter continues to attract foreign investors.According to KT&G’s regulatory filing on Tuesday, Capital Research and Management Company, a wholly-owned investment arm of the Capital Group, acquired about 1.6 million extra shares of KT&G as of May 29. The additional investment came a little over three weeks after it had acquired a 5.61 percent stake in the Korean cigarette maker.Capital Group is one of the world's largest asset managers, managing more than $3 trillion in assets worldwide.KT&G logged 1.7 trillion won ($1.1 billion) in sales and 364.5 billion won in operating profit in the first quarter this year, up 14.3 percent and 27.6 percent, respectively, from the same period last year. In particular, the company posted record-setting 559.6 billion won in overseas sales, up 24.6 percent on year, on the back of balanced growth across the globe.KT&G plans to announce new shareholder return policies in the second half, based on growth driven by global sales.“Following BlackRock, global financial companies that are long-term investment-oriented, such as Capital Group, are consecutively acquiring stakes (in KT&G) and recognizing our company’s fundamental competitiveness,” said a KT&G official.“We will continue to strengthen our shareholder value by increasing profits centered around global businesses and setting up a positive cycle of shareholder returns in the future.”