Samsung heir seeks new business in US

By Kim Yoo-chul

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong flew to the United States late Thursday with senior company executives for high-profile business meetings with big clients.

"Vice Chairman Lee flew to San Jose, where Samsung runs huge research and development (R&D) and innovation center, on the company jet," Samsung said.

Because of the trip, the Samsung heir will not participate in this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC), the biggest telecommunications fair that kicks off next week in Barcelona, according to officials.

Lee was accompanied by another company vice chairman, Kwon Oh-hyun; head of the group’s semiconductor division Jeon Young-hyun; Samsung SDS CEO Jun Dong-soo; and executive vice president of the cellphone business Lee In-jong.

"It's rare for Lee to take the senior executive of the company's semiconductor division on an overseas trip," said an official at the company on condition of anonymity.

Samsung declined to provide further details on the trip, though Vice Chairman Lee told local media at Gimpo International Airport that the delegation will hold a series of key business meetings and check emerging market trends.

Lee is expected to hold meetings with the heads of Microsoft, Oracle and Apple, and will seek for new business opportunities in Silicon Valley.

Samsung SDS CEO Jun, one of the key confidants of Lee and previously serving as head of its chip division, will provide backup as he has solid relations with the company’s semiconductor clients.

Lee's trip comes on the back of solid demand for semiconductors, said the official.

Samsung recently agreed with Apple to provide the latter's A9-branded mobile processors to be used in the next iPhone as a primary supplier, pushing back its chief Taiwanese rival TSMC. Also, it separately signed a deal to supply advanced mobile DRAM chips to Apple to help the new iPhones have better power consumption, and cut its costs with competitive pricing.

Early Thursday, Samsung said in a statement that it will mass produce NAND flash-based next-generation storage device to be used in its new Galaxy smartphone ― the Galaxy S6 ― which will be unveiled on March 1 in Barcelona.

"Management may seek mergers and acquisition chances during the trip as Samsung has been active in acquiring small-sized businesses for growth in new areas that it has identified," said a source by telephone.

Lee will be briefed on this year's major technology trends in the MWC via live video, the source said.