KT cheers local startups in CES
By Lee Min-hyung, Kim Yoo-chul
KT CEO Hwang Chan-gyu talks about the company’s updated business strategies for 2016 at a recent meeting with domestic media held at the company’s main Seoul office, downtown Seoul, in this file photo, Wednesday. / Courtesy of KT
LAS VEGAS/SEOUL ― KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu had face-to-face meetings with chief executives of local venture companies that Korea’s No. 2 telecom firm support in this year’s technology fair in Las Vegas, the United States.
According to KT, the meetings took place in the Bellagio Hotel on the Las Vegas strip, is aimed at discussing ways to help them promote their products and business models in the world’s most-influential technology expo.
“CEO Hwang guaranteed to set up business meetings with overseas clients at which KT is partnering with. Invited executives at Korean startup has been asked to find new business opportunities during their participation in the fair,” KT spokeswoman Lee Sun-young said.
KT is the biggest sponsor of Gyeonggi Creative Economy Center in Korea, a result of the request of Seoul to find new business models for the sustainability of the country with hefty investment by domestic private companies.
Startups being supported by the creative center were invited for the fair.
“Market and consumer are the things that overseas investors are weighing on. If you want to go global, then you should use influential international expos such as CES to find new clients with promoting your models,” said the CEO.
Hwang told the participants that the telco will manage a lot of “practical programs” to help local ventures expand their territories outside the Korean Peninsula. The CEO didn’t specify details of plans that it was considering.
Four local startups were chosen as the winners of which KT will cover all expenses for the fair.
They will demonstrate their latest services to unnamed overseas buyers.
The spokeswoman Lee declined to comment about the estimated transaction volume in return for their support to the local ventures.
Hwang plans to hold meetings with chief executives at Intel, the biggest semiconductor manufacturer and one of leading U.S.-based mobile carrier Verizon Wireless on the sidelines of his participation for the fair.