Kim Hyun-bin began his journalism career at Arirang TV from 2012 to 2017, specializing in defense, foreign affairs and the economy. In 2018, he joined The Korea Times, covering society and business, and is currently responsible for embassy affairs.
SDI to invest more in Hungary battery plant
Samsung SDI CEO Jun Young-hyun appeals to shareholders during the company's 51th shareholders meeting at THE K Hotel in Seoul, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Samsung SDI
By Kim Hyun-bin
By Kim Hyun-bin
Samsung Group's key affiliates Samsung SDS, Samsung SDI and Samsung Electro-Mechanics see an optimistic year ahead with expected growth potential in their respective sectors.
The companies are set to increase investments to raise their competitiveness and market share for the coming year while seeking to strengthen environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) management throughout their corporate structures.
Samsung SDI is seeking to grab a piece of the burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) battery market, which is expected to show exponential growth in the coming years.
“The global battery market was scaled at $48 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $145 billion by 2025,” Samsung SDI CEO Jun Young-hyun said during the 51st shareholders meeting at THE K Hotel in Seoul, Wednesday. “The EV battery is expected to take up 75 percent of the pie worth $108 billion. Securing differentiated technology and quality products will bring us abundant opportunities.”
Ahead of the expected growth, Jun called for large-scale investments to continue in the EV battery sector. However, he also pointed out potential obstacles for this year.
“The EV battery market is expected to grow this year, but uncertainties due to COVID-19 and fierce competition in the battery market will create some difficulties,” he said. “However, in the long run, we will continue investments to mass produce and develop our game-changing, solid-state batteries. We aim to reach the part per billion (PPB) standards to enhance our quality from the current part per million (PPM).”
Jun said the company has been a model when it comes to implementing ESG management values and plans to further strengthen the initiatives in line with efforts by the government.
Samsung SDS CEO formally appointed
Samsung SDS shareholders formally appointed Hwang Sung-woo as the new CEO at the company headquarters in Seoul, Wednesday.
Samsung SDS was capable of making progress even during the pandemic.
“Through the tough times we were able to expand our manufacturing and financial units and cloud services and also establish next-generation enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain management (SCM). We also strengthened our global businesses in Vietnam and China through the operation and expansion of our IT development center,” the company's outgoing CEO Hong Won-pyo said.
“The 2021 global IT service market is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic with more companies initiating digital transformation efforts. As a data-driven, digital transformation (DX) leader, we plan to continue our growth momentum after the COVID-19 crisis.”
Samsung SDS plans to expand its DX expertise, utilize its enhanced digital technologies to expand its platform-based businesses and enhance distribution services as its top three priorities this year.
“With our specialty at the base, we plan to aid clients' DX efforts with our next-generation systems. We also plan to enhance competitiveness in the ERP and SCM sectors,” Hong said.
In addition, Samsung SDS plans to expand ESG management practices.
“The company has been working endlessly to meet the environmental and societal continuous growth values and to seek positive results in non-financial sectors,” he said.
Samsung SDS achieved 11.17 trillion won in sales with an operating profit of 871 billion won last year. Sales increased 297.8 billion won, but operating profit declined 118.5 billion won year-on-year.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics CEO Kyung Kye-hyun speaks to shareholders about possible growth potential during the company's 48th shareholders meeting in Seoul. / Courtesy of Samsung Electro-Mechanics
Electro-Mechanics eyes new investments
Samsung Electro-Mechanics CEO Kyung Kye-hyun said during the 48th shareholders meeting in Seoul, Wednesday, that the company will be focusing on investments for future growth instead of raising dividends for shareholders. The company also vowed to strengthen ESG management.
“There are global economic issues and increased protectionist policies which will create a difficult management environment, but with the expansion of fifth-generation (5G) networks and contactless culture will come opportunities for the market to grow,” Kyung said.
The CEO emphasized the three Ps ― profit, people and planet ―aiming to create profits, aid in people's happiness and take environmental responsibility as part of efforts to aid both the company and societal growth.
He also promised shareholders to double the size of the company by 2026 through technology leadership and innovative manufacturing capabilities.
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Samsung shareholders meetings were held online for the first time while implementing an electronic voting system for shareholders.