Samsung made it clear two weeks ago that it faces grave challenges and that it's buckling up to tackle them. It's having to work around slow demand for memory chips as well as the decline in the profitability of OLED panels. Both have been significant contributors to its record-breaking profits over the past few years.
The company is now looking for engines of future growth. Its heir, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics Lee Jae-yong, has been calling on the company to aggressively make new investments that secure Samsung's place in the future.
Samsung heir wants to secure future growth drivers
Lee Jae-yong met with the five heads of Samsung's core divisions two weeks ago. He said that the company shouldn't be swayed by short-term opportunities and performance. He also said that Samsung should instead focus on securing fundamental technologies for long-term business. Lee reconfirmed that Samsung will be investing $115 billion in its non-memory chip sector business in order to become a leader in this industry by 2030.
He gave a similar message to the global strategy meeting this past weekend. Lee met with executives of the IT and mobile division at the company's Suwon headquarters in Seoul. “We have to make bold investments for the future regardless of any changes in the business environment,” he was quoted as saying. He added that “No company can guarantee they will be around 10 years from now,” and that “We have to have a mindset of starting new businesses, beyond resting on what we've achieved so far.”
He will likely be giving a similar message during his visit to Samsung Electro-Mechanics today, an affiliate of the conglomerate that manufactures electronics parts. Lee will also be discussing the business strategy of Samsung's semiconductor packaging technology and 5G telecom equipment.
