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Companies

Samsung to invest $21 billion in future businesses

By Kim Yoo-chul Staff reporter Samsung Group said Tuesday it will invest up to 23 trillion won ($21 billion) in eco-friendly and healthcare businesses by 2020 in a bid to secure future growth engines. Samsung has picked solar cells, rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, light emitting diodes (LED) and related technologies, biopharmaceuticals and medical devices as its next key drivers in earnings. The company expects the five areas to yield $44 billion in annual sales and create 45,000 new jobs by 2020. "Environment, energy and healthcare will be the top industries for the next 10 years. Marketability was the top consideration for identification," Rhee In-yong, a senior vice president of Samsung's Corporate Communication Team, said in a press briefing. The executive said more "follow-up measures," including updated group-wide investment plans, will be formulated shortly. Several weeks ago, Samsung announced it would substantially increase its capital spending as consumers were spending more on consumer gadgets amid the economic recovery. The plan was approved

May 11, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Companies

POSCO in pole position over Lotte for Daewoo

By Kim Yoo-chul Staff reporter POSCO, Korea's top steel maker, is finding itself in pole position in its competition with Lotte to take over Daewoo International, a trading firm with a heavy portfolio of overseas resource exploration, sources say, foreseeing it as a `` cash battle.'' The creditors of Daewoo are giving the highest priority to the amount of money to be offered in the selection of a priority negotiator. On that account, POSCO is leading the race with Lotte. ``We don't see any big hurdles to acquiring up to 68.15 percent of Daewoo International,'' a POSCO official said. The deal is expected to be worth somewhere between 3.5 trillion and 3.6 trillion won. According to the Korea Asset Management Corp. (KAMCO), POSCO and Lotte Group have already submitted their final bids. Officials at KAMCO said the steelmaker offered to pay at least 3.5 trillion won or $3.03 billion. The share value is estimated at 2.4 trillion won plus the management premium of 40 percent of the value of the stake. ``Price will be the top consideration for the stake. Non-pric

May 10, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

LGT considers handsets powered by Samsung OS

By Kim Yoo-chul Staff reporter LG Telecom, the smallest of Korea's three mobile-phone carriers, is desperate to bulk up its smartphone lineup to better compete with its bigger rivals SK Telecom and KT in the mobile Internet race. And a critical part of the carrier's premium handset lineup is expected to be the devices from Samsung Electronics, including smartphones powered by the company's "Bada" mobile platform. However, some industry watchers point out that LG Telecom's strengthening partnership with Samsung Electronics is reflective of the perils at another LG Group affiliate, LG Electronics, which is now the world's No. 3 handset vendor but is struggling in the booming smartphone market. In a conference call on Friday, LG Telecom said it is planning to release up to 10 new smartphones by the end of the year, including Samsung devices run on the Bada operating system. Bada represents Samsung's attempt at creating a developer's network to compete with the Apple iPhone, the undisputed king of consumer smartphones, as the mobile competition becomes more about conten

May 7, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Chinas frustrating LCD hesistance

Samsung, LG forced to redraw regional strategies By Kim Yoo-chul Staff reporter South Korea's Samsung Electronics and LG Display, the world’s two biggest liquid crystal display (LCD) makers, are struggling to adjust their business strategies for China, with Beijing apparently in no hurry to decide whether or not to allow the companies to build production lines in the country. Industry sources told The Korea Times that Samsung is close to announcing plans to spend 1.5 trillion won (about $1.31 billion) to expand LCD production facilities in Korea, as the prospects of a Chinese line seems more unlikely. "We believe that it will take another month for Beijing to announce which companies have won the rights to establish flat-panel lines in China," a Samsung Electronics official said. Company officials said they need to react quickly to the growing demand for flat-screen televisions in China, as well as the economic recovery in other regions and major sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa creating a jolt in demand. "We can't wait forever

May 7, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Companies

Will Hyundai terminate Sonata series?

Sister Kia’s new sedan K-5 eating away its market share By Kim Yoo-chul Staff reporter Will Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group kill its "steady best-seller," the Sonata? Hyundai officials say "absolutely not," but there appear to be signs that such an eventuality may be on the cards. The biggest threat to Hyundai's best-selling vehicle is not from outside but from its sister firm, Kia. Orders for Kia's K-5 sedan, which will be marketed soon, are so overwhelming as to take away from orders for the YF Sonata, a handsome-looking sedan with what Hyundai calls the product of "fluidic design." According to the data given by the group, Thursday, 11,138 Sonata were sold locally in April, a decrease of 23.6 percent from a month ago. The local sales of all Hyundai cars fell by 14.4 percent last month from the previous month. The plunge in Sonata sales was rare. "Hyundai has previously been enjoying buoyant sales of the model during the first quarter. But situation has changed," a high-ranking industry executive said. Hyundai officials say that the drop in Sonata sale

May 6, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Companies

Doosan dismisses credit crunch worries

By Kim Yoo-chul Staff reporter Doosan Group Thursday disputed skeptical views about the fiscal soundness of its key affiliates. "It's totally groundless that the Doosan Group is facing liquidity problems,'' senior group spokesman, Shin Dong-gyu told The Korea Times. The remarks came days after shares of its core units plummeted on worries over deteriorating cash balances of the group's construction affiliates. On Tuesday, shares of Doosan Group plunged 12.65 percent, while that of Doosan Heavy, Doosan Construction and Doosan Infracore decreased by 8.7 percent, 8.8 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively. The construction unit's issuance of 130 billion won in corporate bonds in the bearish property market had been cited as grounds for skepticism by some analysts and market watchers. Doosan Heavy, the group's power plant and desalination unit, owns 52.2 percent of Doosan Construction ― a fact that was questioned by investors over a possible "vicious cycle." "The issuance of corporate bonds doesn't have any direct link with liquidity worries. The three-year bonds wer

May 6, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung treads water before deciding on more investment

By Kim Yoo-chul Staff reporter "Variables" are the top consideration in cyclical businesses such as computer memory chips and flat-screens, as revenue and profit are determined by production capacity. Increased factory construction can be seen as a good signal but investors should look at what's behind this. If oversupply hits the market, chipmakers may see their profits faller sooner than investors think. Referring to "multiple variables," the world's biggest memory chipmaker Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it was still waiting to decide on additional investment increases. One of the top considerations is the "sudden growth in smartphones," according to the top company executive. "Samsung Electronics has yet to decide how rapidly we will boost our capital spending and when," Kwon Oh-hyun, the head of its semiconductor business told The Korea Times in southern Seoul. "The market for smartphones is growing unexpectedly. Still, there are some conditions that should be taken into consideration before the final announcement," said Kwon who was attending a meeting chai

May 4, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

KT near WiBro deal with Samsung, Intel

By Kim Yoo-chul Staff Reporter KT, Korea's top fixed-line operator, is close to a creating a joint venture with Intel and Samsung Electronics aimed at spreading WiBro, an indigenous mobile Internet technology, known as WiMax overseas. The joint effort comes at a time when relations between KT and Samsung have soured over their smartphone cooperation, with KT enjoying a heyday as the supplier of Apple's 3G-based iPhones. "KT has recently asked Intel and Samsung Electronics to jointly invest in a legal entity for the expansion of wireless broadband (WiBro) technology in other countries," a high-ranking industry executive told The Korea Times, Monday. The venture would take the form of a special purpose company (SPC) in order to minimize investment risks. KT spokeswoman Kim Yoon-jeong said the company was reviewing such a possibility, though she didn't go into details. Shin Young-june, a spokesman of Samsung Electronics, said the company was also looking at participating in the project, while a representative of Intel's Korean branch wasn't available for comment. An

May 3, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Is there oversupply in chips, flat screens?

By Kim Yoo-chul Staff Reporter Concerns have grown that the global market for memory chips and flat-screens, mostly used in digital products, might be saddled with another oversupply sometime in the latter half of this year as manufacturers are aggressively ramping up their output. In general, analysts have no big questions over the continued "bullish moods" in those two sectors, citing steady spending by general consumers on gadgets amid the gradual economic recovery worldwide. But some have claimed that details of inventory data released by various semiconductor and flat-screen supply chain companies were piling up "evidence" over the weakening cycles. "There are some signals to possibly justify the sectors' oversupply in future months. You see large OEMs, end producers, contract manufacturers and distributors stock piling inventory," a high-ranking industry executive said, Monday. Big spending plans by top-tier players are cited as another reason why. In chips, the world's top maker of memory chips Samsung Electronics said it will "substantially increase" capital s

May 3, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

KT profit falls on iPhone expenses

By Kim Yoo-chul Staff Reporter KT, the nation's top fixed-line operator and the second-biggest mobile carrier, said Friday that its first quarter operating profit fell 7.6 percent to 552.7 billion won from 598.2 billion won mainly due to higher marketing expenses for iPhones. But the good news is that it beat its archrival SK Telecom in terms of operating profits for the first time in 23 months. KT has been selling Apple's 3G iPhones. So far, over 550,000 have been sold. KT said its quarterly revenue increased 6.8 percent to 4.82 trillion won from 4.51 trillion won year-on-year, while its net profit was 372.5 billion won for the three months ending March 31, compared with 197.7 billion a year earlier. KT recalculated all of the year-earlier figures on a merged basis to provide year-on-year comparisons. KT officials say it has beaten its biggest domestic rival SK Telecom in terms of quarterly operating profit for the first time in 23 quarters. The operating profit by SK Telecom was 480.5 billion won. KT's spokesman said its "selective approach" towards smartpho

Apr 30, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
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