Samsung

Samsung Group (Hangul: ; Hanja: ; Korean pronunciation: ) is a South Korean multinational conglomerate companyheadquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul. It comprises numerous subsidiaries and affiliated businesses, most of them united under the Samsungbrand, and is the largest South Korean chaebol (business conglomerate). Samsung was founded by Lee Byung-chul in 1938 as a trading company. Over the next three decades the group diversified into areas including food processing, textiles, insurance, securities and retail. Samsung entered the electronics industry in the late 1960s and the construction and shipbuilding industries in the mid-1970s; these areas would drive its subsequent growth. Following Lee's death in 1987, Samsung was separated into four business groups Samsung Group, Shinsegae Group, CJ Group and Hansol Group. Since the 1990s Samsung has increasingly globalized its activities, and electronics, particularly mobile phones and semiconductors, have become its most important source of income. Notable Samsung industrial subsidiaries include Samsung Electronics (the world's largest information [2] technology company measured by 2012 revenues, and 4th in market value), Samsung Heavy [3] Industries (the world's 2nd-largest shipbuilder measured by 2010 revenues), and Samsung Engineering and Samsung C&T (respectively the world's 13th and 36th-largest construction [4] companies). Other notable subsidiaries includeSamsung Life Insurance (the world's 14th-largest life [5] insurance company), Samsung Everland (operator of Everland Resort, the oldest theme park in [6] South Korea), Samsung Techwin (an aerospace, surveillance and defense company) and Cheil [7][8] Worldwide (the world's 16th-largest advertising agency measured by 2011 revenues). Samsung has a powerful influence on South Korea's economic development, politics, media and [9][10] culture, and has been a major driving force behind the "Miracle on the Han River". Its affiliate [11] companies produce around a fifth of South Korea's total exports. Samsung's revenue was equal to [12] 17% of the South Korea's $1,082 billion GDP. In 2013, Samsung began construction on building the world's largest mobile phone factory in the Thai [ Nguyen province of Vietnam.

Name[edit]
According to the founder of Samsung Group, the meaning of the Korean hanja word Samsung () is "tristar" or "three stars". The word "three" represents something "big, numerous and powerful"; the [14] "stars" mean eternity.

History
1938 to 1970
In 1938, Lee Byung-chull (19101987) of a large landowning family in the Uiryeong county came to the nearby Daegu city and founded Samsung Sanghoe (, ), a small trading company with forty employees located in Su-dong (now Ingyo-dong). It dealt in groceries produced in and around the city and produced its own noodles. The company prospered and Lee moved its head office to Seoul in 1947. When the Korean War broke out, however, he was forced to leave Seoul and started a sugar refinery in Busan named Cheil Jedang. After the war, in 1954, Lee founded Cheil Mojikand built the plant in Chimsan-dong, Daegu. It was the largest woolen mill ever in the country and the company took on the aspect of a major company.
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Samsung diversified into many areas and Lee sought to help establish Samsung as an industry leader in a wide range of enterprises, moving into businesses such as insurance, securities, and retail. Lee placed great importance on industrialization, and focused his economic development strategy on a handful of large domestic conglomerates, protecting them from competition and [16] assisting them financially. In 1948, Cho Hong-jai (the Hyosung groups founder) jointly invested in a new company called Samsung Mulsan Gongsa (), or the Samsung Trading Corporation, with the Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chull. The trading firm grew to become the present-day Samsung C&T Corporation. But after some years Cho and Lee separated due to differences in management between them. He wanted to get up to a 30% group share. After settlement, Samsung Group was [17][18] separated into Samsung Group and Hyosung Group, Hankook Tire, and others. In the late 1960s, Samsung Group entered into the electronics industry. It formed several electronicsrelated divisions, such as Samsung Electronics Devices Co., Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Samsung Corning Co., and Samsung Semiconductor & Telecommunications Co., and made the facility in Suwon. Its first product was a black-and-white television set.

1970 to 1990
In 1980, Samsung acquired the Gumi-based Hanguk Jeonja Tongsin and entered the telecommunications hardware industry. Its early products were switchboards. The facility were developed into the telephone and fax manufacturing systems and became the center of Samsung's [20] mobile phone manufacturing. They have produced over 800 million mobile phones to date. The company grouped them together under Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. in the 1980s. After Lee, the founder's death in 1987, Samsung Group was separated into four business groups [21] Samsung Group, Shinsegae Group, CJ Group and Hansol Group. Shinsegae (discount store, department store) was originally part of Samsung Group, separated in the 1990s from the Samsung Group along with CJ Group (Food/Chemicals/Entertainment/logistics) and the Hansol Group (Paper/Telecom). Today these separated groups are independent and they are not part of or [22] connected to the Samsung Group. One Hansol Group representative said, "Only people ignorant of the laws governing the business world could believe something so absurd," adding, "When Hansol separated from the Samsung Group in 1991, it severed all payment guarantees and share-holding ties with Samsung affiliates." One Hansol Group source asserted, "Hansol, Shinsegae, and CJ have been under independent management since their respective separations from the Samsung Group." One Shinsegae department store executive director said, "Shinsegae has no payment guarantees [22] associated with the Samsung Group." In the 1980s, Samsung Electronics began to invest heavily in research and development, investments that were pivotal in pushing the company to the forefront of the global electronics industry. In 1982, it built a television assembly plant in Portugal; in 1984, a plant in New York; in 1985, a plant in Tokyo; in 1987, a facility in England; and another facility in Austin, Texas in 1996. As of 2012, Samsung has invested more than US$13 billion in the Austin facility, which operates under the name Samsung Austin Semiconductor LLC. This makes the Austin location the largest foreign investment [23][24] in Texas and one of the largest single foreign investments in the United States.

1990 to 2000
Samsung started to rise as an international corporation in the 1990s. Samsung's construction branch was awarded a contract to build one of the twoPetronas Towers in Malaysia, Taipei [25] 101 in Taiwan and the Burj Khalifa in United Arab Emirates. In 1993, Lee Kun-hee sold off ten of Samsung Group's subsidiaries, downsized the company, and merged other operations to concentrate

on three industries: electronics, engineering, and chemicals. In 1996, the Samsung Group reacquired the Sungkyunkwan University foundation. Samsung became the largest producer of memory chips in the world in 1992, and is the world's second-largest chipmaker after Intel (see Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Market Share Ranking [26] Year by Year). In 1995, it created its first liquid-crystal display screen. Ten years later, Samsung grew to be the world's largest manufacturer of liquid-crystal display panels. Sony, which had not invested in large-size TFT-LCDs, contacted Samsung to cooperate, and, in 2006, S-LCD was established as a joint venture between Samsung and Sony in order to provide a stable supply of LCD panels for both manufacturers. S-LCD was owned by Samsung (50% plus 1 share) and Sony (50% minus 1 share) and operates its factories and facilities in Tangjung, South Korea. As on 26 December [27] 2011 it was announced that Samsung had acquired the stake of Sony in this joint venture. Compared to other major Korean companies, Samsung survived the 1997 Asian financial crisis relatively unharmed. However, Samsung Motor was sold to Renault at a significant loss. As of 2010, Renault Samsung is 80.1 percent owned by Renault and 19.9 percent owned by Samsung. Additionally, Samsung manufactured a range of aircraft from the 1980s to 1990s. The company was founded in 1999 as Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the result of merger between then three domestic major aerospace divisions of Samsung Aerospace, Daewoo Heavy Industries, and Hyundai Space and Aircraft Company. However, Samsung still manufactures aircraft engines and gas [28] turbines.

2000 to 2013
In 2000, Samsung opened a computer programming laboratory in Warsaw, Poland. Its work began with set-top-box technology before moving into digital TV and smartphones. As of 2011, the Warsaw base is Samsung's most important R&D center in Europe, forecast to be recruiting 400 new-hires per [29] year by the end of 2013. In 2001 Samsung Techwin became the sole supplier of a combustor module for the Rolls-Royce Trent [30] 900 used by the Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger airliner. Samsung Techwin is also a [31] revenue-sharing participant in the Boeing's 787 Dreamliner GEnx engine program.
The prominent Samsung sign in Times Square, New York City ( , ).

In 2010, Samsung announced a 10-year growth strategy centered around five businesses. these businesses was to be focused onbiopharmaceuticals, to which the company has [33] committed 2.1 trillion.

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One of

In December 2011, Samsung Electronics sold its hard disk drive (HDD) business to Seagate.

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In the first quarter of 2012, Samsung Electronics became the world's largest mobile phone maker by [35][36] unit sales, overtaking Nokia, which had been the market leader since 1998. In the August 21 edition of the Austin American-Statesman, Samsung confirmed plans to spend 3 to 4 billion dollars [37] converting half of its Austin chip manufacturing plant to a more profitable chip. The conversion should start in early 2013 with production on line by the end of 2013. On March 14, 2013, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S4. On 24 August 2012, 9 U.S jurors ruled that Samsung had to pay Apple Inc. US$1.05 billion in damages for violating six of its patents on smartphone technology. The award was still less than the US$2.5 billion requested by Apple. The decision also ruled that Apple didn't violate five Samsung [38] patents cited in the case. Samsung decried the decision saying that the move could harm [39] innovation in the sector. It also followed a South Korean ruling stating that both companies were

guilty of infringing on each other's intellectual property. In the first trading after the ruling, Samsung shares on the Kospi index fell 7.7%, the largest fall since October 24, 2008, to 1,177,000 Korean [41] won. Apple then sought to ban the sales of eight Samsung phones (Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy S2 AT&T, Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, Galaxy S2 T-Mobile, Galaxy S2 Epic 4G, Galaxy S Showcase, Droid Charge [42] [43] and Galaxy Prevail) in the United States which has been denied by the court. On 4 September 2012, Samsung announced that it plans to examine all of its Chinese suppliers for possible violations of labor policies. The company said it will carry out audits of 250 Chinese companies that are its exclusive suppliers to see if children under the age of 16 are being used in [44] their factories. In 2013 news outlets in Australia and New Zealand reported a number of Samsung washing [45] machines spontaneously catching on fire.

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Acquisitions and attempted acquisitions[edit]

Samsung has made the following acquisitions and attempted acquisitions: Rollei Swiss watch battle Samsung Techwin acquired a German camera-maker Rollei in 1995. Samsung (Rollei) used its optic expertise on the crystals of a new line of 100% Swiss-made watches, designed by a team of watchmakers at Nouvelle Piquerez S.A. in Bassequort, Switzerland. Rolex's decision to fight Rollei on every front stemmed from the close resemblance between the two names and fears that its sales would suffer as a consequence. In the face of such a threat, the Geneva firm decided to confront. This was also a demonstration of the Swiss watch industry's determination to defend itself when an established brand is threatened. Rolex sees this frontline battle as vital for the entire Swiss watch industry. Rolex has succeeded in keeping Rollei out of the German market. On March 11, 1995 the Cologne District court prohibited the advertising and sale of Rollei watches on German territory. Fokker, a Dutch aircraft maker Samsung lost a chance to revive its failed bid to take over Dutch aircraft maker Fokker when other airplane makers rejected its offer to form a consortium. The three proposed partners Hyundai, Hanjin and Daewoo have notified the South Korean government that they will not join Samsung Aerospace Industries Ltd. AST Research Samsung bought AST (1994) and tried to break into North America, but the effort foundered. Samsung was forced to close the California-based computer maker following mass defection of research staff and a string of losses. FUBU clothing and apparel In 1992, Daymond John had started the company with a hat collection that was made in his house in the Queens area of New York City. To fund the company, John had to mortgage his house for $100,000. With his friends, namely J. Alexander Martin, Carl Brown and Keith Perrin, half of his house was turned into the first factory of FUBU, while the other half remained as the living quarters. Along with the expansion of FUBU, Samsung invested in FUBU in 1995.
[51] [50] [49] [47][48] [46]

Lehman Brothers Holdings Asian operations Samsung Securities was one of a handful of brokerages looking into Lehman Brothers Holdings. But Nomura Holdings has reportedly waved the biggest check to win its bid for Lehman Brothers Holdings Asian operations, beating out Samsung Securities, Standard Chartered, and Barclays.
[52]

Ironically, after few months Samsung Securities Co., Ltd. and City

of London-based N M Rothschild & Sons (more commonly known simply as Rothschild) have agreed to form a strategic alliance in investment banking business. Two parties will jointly work on cross border mergers and acquisition deals. MEDISON Co.,Ltd. Ultrasound Monitors In December 2010, Samsung Electronics Co. bought MEDISON Co.,Ltd., a South Korean medical-equipment company, the first step in a long-discussed plan to diversify from consumer electronics.
[54] [53]

Grandis Inc. memory developer In July 2011, Samsung announced that it had acquired spin-transfer torque random access memory (MRAM) vendor Grandis Inc.
[55]

Grandis will become a part of Samsung's R&D

operations and will focus on development of next generation random-access memory. Samsung and Sony joint venture LCD display On December 26, 2011 the board of Samsung Electronics approved a plan to buy Sony's entire stake in their 2004 joint liquid crystal display (LCD) venture for 1.08 trillion won ($938.97 million).
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mSpot, Inc Music Service On May 9, 2012, mSpot announced that it had been acquired by Samsung Electronics with the intention of a cloud based music service. Hub. NVELO, Inc. Cache Software Developer In December 2012, Samsung announced that it had acquired the privately held storage software vendor NVELO, Inc., based in Santa Clara, California.
[59] [58]

The succeeding service was Samsung Music

NVELO will become part of

Samsung's R&D operations, and will focus on software for intelligently managing and optimizing next-generation Samsung SSD storage subsystems for consumer and enterprise computing platforms. NeuroLogica Portable CT scanner In January 2013, Samsung announced that it has acquired medical imaging company NeuroLogica, part of the multinational conglomerates plans to build a leading medical technology business. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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Operations
Samsung comprises around 80 companies. It is highly diversified, with activities in areas [62] including construction, consumer electronics,financial services, shipbuilding, and medical services. In FY 2009, Samsung reported consolidated revenues of 220 trillion KRW ($172.5 billion). In FY 2010, Samsung reported consolidated revenues of 280 trillion KRW ($258 billion), and profits of 30 trillion
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KRW ($27.6 billion) (based upon a KRW-USD exchange rate of 1,084.5 KRW per USD, the spot rate [63] as of 19 August 2011). However, it should be noted that these amounts do not include the [64] revenues from all of Samsung's subsidiaries based outside South Korea.

Subsidiaries and affiliates[edit]

As of April 2011 the Samsung Group comprised 59 unlisted companies and 19 listed companies, all [65] of which had their primary listing on theKorea Exchange stock-exchange. Principal subsidiary and affiliate companies of Samsung include:

Ace Digitech[edit]
Ace Digitech is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 036550).

Cheil Industries[edit]
Cheil Industries is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 001300).

Cheil Worldwide[edit]
Cheil Worldwide is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 030000).

Credu[edit]
Credu is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 067280).

Imarket Korea[edit]
Imarket Korea is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 122900).

Samsung Card[edit]
Samsung Card is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 029780).

Samsung C&T Corporation[edit]

Samsung C&T Corporation is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (000830).

Samsung Electro-Mechanics[edit]
Samsung Electro-Mechanics, established in 1973 as a manufacturer of key electronic components, is headquartered in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. It is listed on the Korea Exchange stock[66] exchange (number 009150).

Samsung Electronics[edit]
Main article: Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a multinational electronics and information technology company [67] headquartered in Suwon and the flagship company of the Samsung Group. Its products include air conditioners, computers, digital televisions, liquid crystal displays (including thin film transistors (TFTs) and active-matrix organic light-emitting diodes (AMOLEDs)), mobile phones, monitors, printers, [68] refrigerators, semiconductors and telecoms networking equipment. It is the world's largest mobile [69] phone maker by unit sales in the first quarter of 2012, with a global market share of 25.4%. It is also [70] theworld's second-largest semiconductor maker by 2011 revenues (after Intel). Samsung Electronics is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 005930).

Samsung Engineering[edit]
Main article: Samsung Engineering

Samsung Engineering Co., Ltd. is a multinational construction company headquartered in Seoul. It was founded in January 1970. Its principal activity is the construction of oil refining plants; upstream oil and gas facilities; petrochemical plants and gas plants; steel making plants; power generation [71] plants; water treatment facilities; and other infrastructure. It achieved total revenues of 9,298.2 [72] billion won (US$8.06 billion) in 2011. Samsung Engineering is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 028050).

Samsung Everland[edit]
Samsung Everland engages in an array of services closely associated with the day-to-day lives and business operations of its customers. Its business scope covers the three main sectors of Environment & Asset, Food Culture, and Resort. Since its inception in 1963 and the launch of theme park 'Everland' in 1976, Samsung Everland has steadily built its presence across the markets of golf, building management, food and beverage, energy, and environment, turning challenges into opportunities. Through this process, Samsung Everland has managed to achieve its current market standing. As a corporation trusted by the local community and renowned globally as a pioneer in the infrastructure of life, Samsung Everland strives to help its customers lead fulfilling lives and achieve success in their business operations by building the infrastructure for every aspect of life including entertainment, culinary, and business.

Samsung Fine Chemicals[edit]

Samsung Fine Chemicals is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 004000).

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance[edit]

Main article: Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd. is a multinational general insurance company [73] headquartered in Seoul. It was founded in January 1952 as Korea Anbo Fire and Marine Insurance [74] Co., Ltd. and was renamed Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance in December 1993. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance offers services including accident insurance, automobile insurance, casualty [75] insurance, fire insurance, liability insurance, marine insurance, personal pensions and loans. As of [75] March 2011 it had operations in 10 countries and 6.5 million customers. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance had a total premium income of US$11.7 billion in 2011 and total assets of US$28.81 billion [75] at 31 March 2011. It is the largest provider of general insurance in South Korea. Samsung Fire has been listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange since 1975 (number [75] 000810).

Samsung Heavy Industries[edit]

Main article: Samsung Heavy Industries Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. is a shipbuilding and engineering company headquartered in Seoul. It was founded in August 1974. Its principal products are bulk carriers, container vessels, crude [76] oil tankers, cruisers, passenger ferries, material handling equipment steel and bridge structures. It achieved total revenues of 13,358.6 billion won in 2011 and is the world's second-largest shipbuilder [77][78] by revenues (after Hyundai Heavy Industries). Samsung Heavy Industries is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 010140).

Samsung Life Insurance[edit]

Main article: Samsung Life Insurance

Samsung Life Insurance Co., Ltd. is a multinational life insurance company headquartered in Seoul. It was founded in March 1957 as Dongbang Life Insurance and became an affiliate of the Samsung [79] Group in July 1963. Samsung Life's principal activity is the provision of individual life insurance and [80] annuity products and services. As of December 2011 it had operations in seven countries, 8.08 [79] million customers and 5,975 employees. Samsung Life had total sales of 22,717 billion won in 2011 [79] and total assets of 161,072 billion won at 31 December 2011. It is the largest provider of life insurance in South Korea. Samsung Life Insurance is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 032830)

Samsung Machine Tools[edit]

Samsung Machine Tools of America is a national distributor of machines in the United States.
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Samsung Medical Center[edit]

The Samsung Medical Center was founded on November 9, 1994 under the philosophy of contributing to improving the nations health through the best medical service, advanced medical research, and development of outstanding medical personnel." The Samsung Medical Center consists of a hospital and a cancer center. The hospital is located in an intelligent building with floor space of more than 200,000 square meters and 20 floors aboveground and 5 floors underground, housing 40 departments, 10 specialist centers, 120 special clinics, and 1,306 beds. On the other hand, the 655bed Cancer Center has 11 floors aboveground and 8 floors underground, with floor space of over 100,000 square meters. SMC is a tertiary hospital manned by approximately 7,400 staff including over 1,200 doctors and 2,300 nurses. Since its foundation, the Samsung Medical Center has successfully incorporated and developed an advanced model with the motto of becoming a "patient-centered hospital," a new concept in Korea.

Samsung SDI[edit]
Samsung SDI is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 006400). On December 5, 2012 the antitrust regulators of European Union fined Samsung SDI and several other major [82] companies for fixing prices of TV cathode-ray tubes in two cartels lasting nearly a decade.

Samsung Securities[edit]
Samsung Securities is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 016360).

Samsung Techwin[edit]
Samsung Techwin is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 012450).

Shilla Hotels and Resorts[edit]

The Hotel opened in March of 1979, following the intention of the late Mr. Byung Chul Lee, the founder of the Samsung Group. Hosting numerous state visits and international events, it has played the role of locomotive for the service industry in Korea with pride and responsibility as the face representing the Samsung Group and the hotel representing Korea. THE SHILL A maintains elegance and a tradition of winning guests hearts with the aim of becoming the best hospitality company. By joining LHW, it is on par with the most luxurious hotels in the world. Meanwhile, it has added modernistic design elements on top of the roof called tradition, thus going through changes to make itself a premium life style space that upgrades the quality of life. In addition, with its know-how as a service company in the background, it started a duty-free shop business, and has built its image as the best global distribution company. Also, it is expanding its business into commissioned management of fitness facilities with five-star hotels in Korea and abroad as well as into the restaurant business. THE SHILLA promises to be a globally prestigious hospitality company that

offers the best value for money by making creative innovations and continuously taking on challenges. Shilla Hotels and Resorts is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 008770).

S-1 Corporation[edit]
S-1 was founded as Koreas first specialized security business in 1997 and has maintained its position at the top of industry with the consistent willingness to take on challenges. S1 Corporation is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 012750).

Joint ventures[edit]
Current[edit]
aT Grain[edit]
State-run Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp. set up the venture, aT Grain Co., in Chicago, with three other South Korean companies, Korea Agro-Fisheries owns 55 percent of aT Grain, while Samsung [83] C&T Corp, Hanjin Transportation Co. and STX Corporation each hold 15 percent.

Brooks Automation Asia[edit]

Brooks Automation Asia Co., Ltd. is a joint venture between Brooks Automation (70%) and Samsung (30%) which was established in 1999. The venture locally manufactures and configure vacuum wafer handling platforms and 300mm Front-Opening Unified Pod (FOUP) load port modules, and designs, [84] manufactures and configures atmospheric loading systems for flat panel displays.

POSCO-Samsung Slovakia Steel Processing Center[edit]

Company POSS SLPC s.r.o. was founded in 2007 as a subsidiary of Samsung C & T Corporation, [85] Samsung C & T Deutschland and the company POSCO.

POSCO-Samsung Suzhou Steel Processing Center[edit]

[85]

Samsung Air China Life Insurance[edit]

Samsung Air China Life Insurance Co., Ltd. is a 50:50 joint venture between Samsung Life Insurance [86] and China National Aviation Corporation. It was established in Beijing in July 2005.

Samsung Bioepis[edit]
Samsung Bioepis is a joint venture between Samsung Biologics (85%) and the United States[87] based Biogen Idec (15%).

Samsung Biologics[edit]
Samsung Electronics Co. and Samsung Everland Inc. will each own a 40 percent stake in the venture, with Samsung C&T Corp. and Durham, North Carolina-based Quintiles each holding 10 percent. It will contract-make medicines made from living cells, and Samsung Group plans to expand into producing copies of biologics including Rituxan, the leukemia and lymphoma treatment sold [88] by Roche Holding AG and Biogen Idec Inc.

Samsung BP Chemicals[edit]
Samsung BP Chemicals Co., Ltd is a 50:50 joint venture between Samsung and the United Kingdombased BP, which was established in 1989 to produce and supply high-value-added chemical products.

Samsung Corning Precision Glass[edit]

Samsung Corning Precision Glass is a joint venture between Samsung and Corning, which was established in 1973 to manufacture and market cathode ray tube glass for black and white televisions. The companys first LCD glass substrate manufacturing facility opened in Gumi, Korea in 1996.

Samsung Sumitomo LED Materials[edit]

Samsung Sumitomo LED Materials is a Korea-based joint venture between Samsung LED Co., Ltd., an LED maker based in Suwon, Korea-based and the Japan-based Sumitomo Chemical. The JV will [89] carry out research and development, manufacturing, and sales of sapphire substrates for LEDs.

Samsung Thales[edit]
Samsung Thales Co., Ltd. (until 2001 known as Samsung Thomson-CSF Co., Ltd.) is a joint venture between Samsung Techwin and the France-based aerospace and defence company Thales. It was [90] established in 1978 and is based in Seoul.

Samsung Total[edit]
Samsung Total is a 50:50 joint venture between Samsung and the France-based oil group Total S.A. (more specifically Samsung General Chemicals and Total Petrochemicals).

SB LiMotive[edit]
SB LiMotive is a 50:50 joint company of Robert Bosch GmbH (commonly known as Bosch) and Samsung SDI founded in June 2008. The joint venture develops and manufactures lithium-ion batteries for use in hybrid-, plug-in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles.

SD Flex[edit]
SD Flex Co., Ltd. was founded on October 2004 as a joint venture corporation by Samsung [91] and DuPont, one of the world's largest chemical company.

Sermatech Korea[edit]
Sermatech owns 51% of its stock, while Samsung owns the remaining 49%. The U.S. firm Sermatech International, for a business focusing on highly specialized aircraft construction processes such as [92] special welding and brazing.

Siam Samsung Life Insurance[edit]

Samsung Life Insurance, holds a 37% stake while Saha Group also has a 37.5% stake in the joint [93] venture, with the remaining 25% owned by Thanachart Bank.

Siltronic Samsung Wafer[edit]

Siltronic Samsung Wafer Pte. Ltd, the joint venture by Samsung and wholly owned Wacker [94] Chemie subsidiary Siltronic, was officially opened in Singapore in June 2008.

SMP[edit]
SMP Ltd. is a joint venture between Samsung Fine Chemicals and MEMC. MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. and an affiliate of Korean conglomerate Samsung are forming a joint venture to build apolysilicon plant.

Steco[edit]
Steco Co., Ltd. is established as the joint venture company with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd and [95] Japan TORAY in 1995.

Stemco[edit]
Stemco is a joint venture between Samsung Electro-Mechanics and the Japan-based Toray [96] Industries which was established in 1995.

Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology[edit]

Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Corporation (TSST) is joint venture between Samsung Electronics and Toshiba of Japan which specialises in optical disc drive manufacturing. TSST was formed in 2004, and Toshiba owns 51% of its stock, while Samsung owns the remaining 49%.

Defunct[edit]
Alpha Processor[edit]
In 1998, Samsung created a U.S. joint venture with Compaqcalled Alpha Processor Inc. (API)--to help it enter the high-end processor market. The venture was also aimed at expanding Samsung's non-memory chip business by fabricating Alpha processors. At the time, Samsung and Compaq [97] invested $500 million in Alpha Processor.

GE-Samsung Lighting[edit]
GE Samsung Lighting was a joint venture between Samsung and the GE Lighting subsidiary [98] of General Electric. The venture was established in 1998 and was broken up in 2009.

Global Steel Exchange[edit]

Global Steel Exchange was a joint venture formed in 2000 between Samsung, the United Statesbased Cargill, the Switzerland-based Duferco Group, and the Luxembourg-based Tradearbed (now [99] part of the ArcelorMittal), to handle their online buying and selling of steel.

S-LCD[edit]
S-LCD Corporation was a joint venture between Samsung Electronics (50% plus one share) and the Japan-based Sony Corporation (50% minus one share) which was established in April 2004. On December 26, 2011, Samsung Electronics announced that it would acquire all of Sony's shares in the venture.

Partially owned companies[edit]

Atlantico Sul[edit]
Samsung Heavy Industries currently owns 10 percent of the Brazilian shipbuilder Atlantico Sul, which operates the largest shipyard in South America. Joao Candido, the largest ship built to date in Brazil, [100] was built by Atlantico Sul with technology supplied by Samsung Heavy Industries.

DGB Financial Group[edit]

Samsung Life Insurance currently holds a 7.4% stake in the South Korean banking company DGB [101] Financial Group, making it the largest shareholder.

Doosan Engine[edit]
Samsung Heavy Industries currently holds a 14.1 percent stake in Doosan Engine, making it the [102] second-biggest shareholder.

Korea Aerospace Industries[edit]

Samsung Techwin currently holds a 10 percent stake in Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). Other major shareholders include the state-owned Korea Finance Corporation (26.75 percent), Hyundai [103] Motor (10 percent) and Doosan (10 percent).

MEMC KOREA[edit]
MEMC's joint venture with Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd. In 1990, MEMC entered into a joint [104] venture agreement to construct a silicon plant in Korea.

Rambus Incorporated[edit]
Samsung currently owns 4.19 percent of Rambus Incorporated.
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Renault Samsung Motors[edit]

Samsung currently owns 19.9 percent of the automobile manufacturer Renault Samsung Motors.

Seagate Technology[edit]
Samsung currently owns 9.6 percent of Seagate Technology, making it the second-largest shareholder. Under a shareholder agreement, Samsung has the right to nominate an executive to [106] Seagates Board of Directors.

SungJin Geotec[edit]
Samsung Engineering holds a 10 percent stake in Sungjin Geotec, an offshore oil drilling company [107] that is a subsidiary of POSCO.

Taylor Energy[edit]
Taylor Energy is an independent American oil company that drills in the Gulf of Mexico based in New [108] Orleans, Louisiana. Samsung Oil & Gas USA Corp., subsidiaries of Samsung, currently owns 20% of Taylor Energy.

Major customers
Major customers of Samsung include: Royal Dutch Shell Samsung Heavy Industries will be the sole provider of liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facilities worth up to US$50 billion to Royal Dutch Shell for the next 15 years.
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Shell has unveiled plans to build the world's first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) platform. At Samsung Heavy Industries' shipyard on Geoje Island in South Korea, work is about to start
[when?]

on a "ship" that, when finished and fully loaded, will weigh 600,000 tonnes
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the world's biggest "ship". That is six times as much as the biggest US aircraft carrier. United Arab Emirates government

A consortium of South Korean firms including Samsung, Korea Electric Power Corp and Hyundai has won a deal worth 40 billion dollars to buildnuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates.
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Ontario government The government of the Canadian province of Ontario signed off one of the world's largest renewable energy projects, signing a $6.6bn deal that will result in 2,500 MW of new wind and solar energy capacity being built. Under the agreement a consortium led by Samsung and the Korea Electric Power Corporation will manage the development of 2,000 MW-worth of new wind farms and 500 MW of solar capacity, while also building a manufacturing supply chain in the province.

The current Samsung logo design is intended to emphasize flexibility and simplicity while conveying a dynamic and innovative image through the ellipse, the symbol of the universe and the world stage. The openings on both ends of the ellipse where the letters "S" and "G" are located are intended to illustrate the company's open-mindedness and the desire to communicate with the world. The English rendering is a visual expression of its core corporate vision, excellence in customer service through technology. The basic color in the logo is blue, the color that the company has used in its logos for years. The blue color symbolizes stability and reliability, which are precisely what the company wishes to accomplish with its customers. It also stands for social responsibility as a corporate citizen, a [116] company official explained.

Audio logo[edit]
Samsung has an audio logo, which consists of the notes E, A, D, E. The audio logo was produced by Musikvergnuegen and written by Walter Werzowa.
[117][118]

Samsung Medical Center[edit]

Samsung donates around US$100 million per annum to the Samsung Medical Center, a non-profit [119] healthcare provider founded by the group in 1994. Samsung Medical Center incorporates Samsung Seoul Hospital, Kangbook Samsung Hospital, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Samsung Cancer Center and Samsung Life Sciences Research Center. Samsung Cancer Center, located in [120] Seoul, is the largest cancer center in Asia. Samsung Medical Center and the multinational pharmaceuticals company Pfizer have agreed to collaborate on research to identify the genomic [ mechanisms responsible for clinical outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Sponsorships[edit]
A Samsung display in Salt Lake City during the 2002 Winter Olympics

For more details on Samsung's sports sponsorships, see Samsung Sports. Samsung sponsors Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. Samsung are the current sponsors of the English Premier League football club Chelsea Football Club. They also sponsor English Football [123] League One clubs Swindon Town and Leyton Orient. Samsung, which started as a domestic sponsor of the Olympics in Seoul 1988, has been a worldwide [124] Olympic partner since the 1998 Winter Olympics. Samsung operating many sports clubs, football club Suwon Samsung Bluewings, baseball club Samsung Lions, basketball club Seoul Samsung Thunders, volleyball club Daejeon Samsung Fire Bluefangs and etc. Samsung also sponsors a former Starcraft Brood War and current Starcraft II Professional Gaming Team named Samsung Khan. Samsung has sponsored the team since 2000.
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Controversies[edit]
See also: Samsung Electronics#Controversies and Samsung Electronics#Viral marketing

Financial scandals[edit]
In 2007 former Samsung chief lawyer Kim Yong Chul claimed that he was involved in bribing and fabricating court evidence on behalf of the group's chairman Lee Kun-hee and the company. Kim said

that Samsung lawyers trained executives to serve as scapegoats in a "fabricated scenario" to protect Lee, even though those executives were not involved. Kim also told the media that he was "sidelined" by Samsung after he refused to pay a USD$3.3 million bribe to the judge presiding over a case where two of their executives were found guilty. Kim revealed that the company had raised a large amount of secret funds through bank accounts illegally opened under the names of up to 1,000 Samsung [125] executivesunder his own name, four accounts were opened to manage 5 billion won.

Claims of monopolizing[edit]
You can even say the Samsung chairman is more powerful than the President of South Korea. Korean people have come to think of Samsung as invincible and above the law, said Woo Suk-hoon, host of a popular economics podcast in a Washington Post article named "In South Korea, the Republic of Samsung," published on December 9, 2012. Critics claimed that Samsung knocked out smaller businesses, limiting choices for Korean consumers, and sometimes colluded with fellow giants to fix prices while bullying those who investigate. Lee Jung-hee, a South Korean presidential candidate, said in a debate, Samsung has the government in its hands. Samsung manages the legal [126] world, the press, the academics and bureaucracy.

Viral marketing[edit]
The Fair Trade Commission of Taiwan is investigating Samsung and its local Taiwanese advertising agency for false advertising. The case was commenced after the Commission received complaints stating that the agency hired students to attack competitors of Samsung Electronics in online [127] forums. Samsung Taiwan made an announcement on its Facebook page in which it stated that it had not interfered with any evaluation report and had stopped online marketing campaigns that constituted posting or responding to content in online forums.

SWOT analysis of Samsung

Strength Samsung enjoys the widest range of product portfolio which includes Mobile phone, Tablet, TV/Audio/Video, Camera, camcorder, Home appliance, pc, peripherals, printer, memory cards and other accessories Samsung holds significant market share in most of the product categories Samsung is NO.2 in terms of market share in mobiles, it captured Nokias market share by superior innovation in smart phones Samsungs is the best in terms of design features and technology. It was the first to introduced dual screen mobiles , 65k TFT/LCD colour phone, first phone with polyphonic ringtones, phones with rotating lens, thinnest and lightest note pad etc

Samsung enjoys the first mover advantage in terms of introducing advance features in LCD, refrigerator, Air conditioner etc. It introduced the worlds smallest MP3 player and Indias first 17 TFT-LCD-TV monitor. Samsung took advantage of the growing economy of Asian market by setting up manufacturing plant in India there by reducing logistics and supply chain costs.

Samsung brand value increased by 80% in past three years Weakness Samsung Mobile launched a series of Smart phones recently which led tocannibalization The demand for LCD panels is expected to decline in the future Still Nokia is considered to be the most preferred product in India in terms of ease of use, reliability and resale value Chinese products focus on economies of scale and dump into Indian market for lesser cost. This results in reduction of sales Samsung is a hardware leader but has too much of dependence for software from other parties. Online stores which sell a wide range of products are giving better deals as they dont incur cost in distribution channel Opportunity Samsung is planning to make the air-condition product category more strong with unique technology called Triple protection proposition Samsung is the Indias official Olympic partner for the 2012 London Olympic and recently launched Olympic Ratna Program. This will result enhance brand awareness and increase the sales Samsung Mobile and Home appliance has future plans of launching Customized products for Indian market. This will improve the market share in rural market The Indian youth population is growing and mobile phone sales is expected to increase due to lesser call rates Its financial position is strong and there is a scope of entering into unrelated diversification Threats Samsung has wide variety of product lines, failure of one product line will have impact on the other and will result in brand dilution The competitors like Nokia are focused focussed only in one segment Since India is a potential market, entry of foreign players is likely high. Foreign players like Haier have already started gaining market share in India in home appliances.

Threats from Chinese products Retail Chains like Bigbazaar sell consumer electronics and home appliance in low cost strategy which are procured in bulks from foreign market

Company background
Name Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Consumer electronics, Telecoms Equipment, Semiconductors, Home Appliances Worldwide South Korea Kwon Oh Hyun 201.103 trillion (2012) 23.845 trillion (2012) 221,726 (2012) Samsung Group Apple Inc., Nokia OYJ, Intel Corporation, LG Display and LG Electronics, Sony Corporation, Texas Instruments Inc., Lenovo Group Limited, Hewlett-Packard Company, Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Toshiba Corporation, SK Hynix Inc., Western Digital Corporation and others.

Industries served

Geographic areas served Headquarters Current CEO Revenue Profit Employees Parent

Main Competitors

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is the largest worlds technology company in terms of revenues. It is the largest mobile phone maker and television manufacturer and second largest semiconductor chip producer. You can find more information about the business in its official website or Wikipedias article.

SWOT

Samsung SWOT analysis 2013 Strengths

1. Hardware integration with many open source OS and software 2. Excellence in engineering and producing

Weaknesses
1. Patent infringement 2. Too low profit margin 3. Main competitors are also largest buyers

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

hardware parts and consumer electronics Innovation and design Focus on environment Low production costs Largest share in mobile phones and 2 place in smartphones sales Ability to market the brand

4. Lack its own OS and software 5. Focus on too many products

Opportunities Threats
1. Growing Indias smartphone market
2. 3. 4. 5. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Growing mobile advertising industry Growing demand for quality application processors Growth of tablets market Obtaining patents through acquisitions Saturated smartphone markets in developed countries Rapid technological change Declining margins on hardware production Breached patents Apples iTV launch Price wars

Strengths
1. Hardware integration with many open source OS and software. Samsung is focused on producing devices which can be integrated with most of the software and OS. This gives Samsung products an edge over Apples (its arch rival) devices, especially as Android and other OS are gaining market share when iOS and OS X are losing it. 2. Excellence in engineering and producing hardware parts and consumer electronics.Samsung is the number 1 by market share in televisions and mobile phones sales and some of the hardware parts (processors, memory chips, etc.). This was largely achieved due to excellence in engineering and both efficient and effective production. 3. Innovation and design. In 2011, Samsung ranked second on the list of US top patent assignees. More patents strengthen Samsung position among its competitors. The firm also won many awards for the design of its products, proving the superior advanatage over the competitors. 4. Focus on environment. Samsung focuses on producing environment friendly products that are free from PVC and BFRs (currently only MP3 and mobile phones). It also develops various recycling programs that are awarded for their success. Thus, Samsungs focus on environment gives it an edge over its competitors in the eyes of its customers.

5. Low production costs. The company has set up its production facilities in low cost countries. This allows producing goods with low production cost and benefit Samsung as it can offer lower price and earn higher margins. 6. Largest share in mobile phones and 2 place in smartphones sales in the world. Samsung Electronics have achieved large market share in many products they sell, especially in mobile phones, smartphones, semiconductors and television sets. Large market share has its advantage, bargaining power, that Samsung can use to further reduce costs and demand for better contract conditions. 7. Ability to market the brand. Samsung is named as top rising brand by Interbrand and is the 9th most valuable brand with value nearly $33 billion. It has risen by 40% from 2011 to 2012. This was mainly achieved due to companys ability to market the brand in sporting events and social contributions.

Weaknesses
1. Patent infringement. Samsung is infringing Apples and some other firms patents, thus, damaging its reputation and having to pay a huge amount of money in damages. 2. Too low profit margin. Samsung Electronics is the largest technology business in the world in terms of revenues but it has a low gross profit and net profit margins. Although its smartphones business is quite profitable, Samsungs profit margin is low due to its semiconductors sales and aggressive price cuts. 3. Main competitors are also largest buyers. Apple, Sony, Dell, HP are the main buyers of Samsung Electronics products as well as the firms main competitors. Such situation would be favorable to Samsung (if competitors could not find complementary products and would form a relatively low share Samsungs revenues) because it could use its bargaining power over competitors. Due to reverse conditions (competitors can find complements and they form a relatively high share of firms revenues) Samsung cannot use its bargaining power over competitors as it can easily lose its customers and sales. 4. Lack its own OS and software. Software and OS production has a high profit margin, can increase integration of companys products and brand loyalty. Without strong software and OS Samsung is at disadvantage over its competitors. 5. Focus on too many products. Samsung Electronics serves 4 different industries with many different products in them. Samsung is at disadvantage over its competitors because it loses a focus when competing in too many industries and too many products.

Opportunities
1. Growing Indias smartphone market. Indias smartphone market is one of the least penetrated among Asia/Pacific countries. Samsung has a strong presence in Indias market and could use this opportunity to expand its sales. 2. Growing mobile advertising industry. The company could develop advertising platform for its mobile devices and significantly benefit from this lucrative market. 3. Growing demand for quality application processors. Samsung is one of the key manufacturers of application processors for smartphones and tablets. The growing demand for these products requires more best quality application processors that only Samsung provide.

4. Growth of tablets market. Tablets market is expected to grow in double digits over the next few years. Samsung business has a strong position in tablets market and could expand it by introducing newer, better quality tablet models, such as its current galaxy line. 5. Obtaining patents through acquisitions. The key to Samsungs competitive advantage is the large portfolio of patents. Patents can be discovered by engaging in costly R&D or through acquisitions of other firms.

Threats
1. Saturated smartphone markets in developed countries. Smartphones market in the developed economies is saturated and the sales will not be growing at a high rate. 2. Rapid technological change. The serious threat that Samsung and the other tech companies are facing is a rapid technological change. Companies are under the pressure to release the new products faster and faster. The one that cannot keep up with the competition soon fails. This is especially hard when the business wants to introduce something new, innovative and successful. 3. Declining margins on hardware production. Samsung is the second largest semiconductors producer where the profit margins are very thin, thus weakening the whole company's figures. 4. Breached patents. Samsung Electronics has many patents which are often used by its many competitors. Such situation makes it hard to find out which companies benefit from Samsungs technology but do not pay for the rights to use it. 5. Apples iTV launch. Apples iTV is the next big lunch from Apple, which may hurt Samsungs TV sales. 6. Price wars. Samsung has a very low gross margin on many of its products and is already selling some of them with significant price cuts. Competitors could follow price cutting strategy too and induce price wars, which would erode Samsungs profit margin to 0%!