Samsung Announces $205 Billion Investment Plan

Samsung Group unveiled a $205 billion investment blueprint on Tuesday aimed at making the company a leader in a range of technologies from semiconductors to robotics and creating 40,000 new jobs.

The tech giant is South Korea's largest conglomerate and its overall turnover is equivalent to a fifth of the national gross domestic product. Samsung Electronics, its flagship subsidiary, is the world's biggest smartphone maker.

The plan will "help Samsung strengthen its global standing in key industries while spearheading innovation in new fields", the company said in a statement, adding that it will also pursue corporate acquisitions.

On the semiconductor front, the firm said it will seek to enhance cutting-edge technologies to meet "long-term demand rather than short-term changes".

It is also looking to expand its biopharmaceutical business run by Samsung Biologics and Samsung Bioepisit.

The conglomerate said it would build two new manufacturing plants on top of three currently in operation with a view to tapping into the manufacturing of vaccines.

Of the 240 trillion won ($205 billion) it plans to spend, it will commit 180 trillion won to South Korea.

The domestic investment is expected to create another 10,000 jobs on top of 30,000 already planned. It could also induce as many as 560,000 new hirings in related industries, it said.

The announcement comes just days after Lee Jae-yong, the de-facto leader of the conglomerate, walked out of prison on parole after completing only about half of his jail term.

It was the latest instance of the country's long tradition of freeing business leaders on economic grounds after imprisonment for corruption or tax evasion.

Lee was serving a two-and-a-half year prison sentence for bribery, embezzlement and other offences in connection with a corruption scandal that brought down former South Korean president Park Geun-hye.

But his parole is not the end of his legal travails: he remains on trial over alleged stock manipulation that effectively eased his path to take control of the family conglomerate.

Copyright AFP. All rights reserved.

RECENT NEWS

Stocks Rise After Better-than-expected Jobs Report To Close Out Winning Week

Stocks rose on Thursday following a better-than-expected U.S. jobs report as the economy tries to recover from the coron... Read more

Record Jobs Gain Of 4.8 Million In June Smashes Expectations; Unemployment Rate Falls To 11.1%

Another big contributor to the decline of the jobless rate was a plunge in those on temporary layoff. That total fell by... Read more

17.6 Million Unemployed Americans Probably Won't Return To Their Pre-pandemic Jobs

The share of the workforce currently out of work with no reasonable chance of returning to their jobs is about 11%, or a... Read more

GM, Fiat Chrysler U.S. Auto Sales Tank In Second Quarter As Coronavirus Saps Demand

U.S. vehicle sales in the second quarter for General Motors, Toyota Motor and Fiat Chrysler plunged by more than 30% Read more

Mortgage Demand Falls For The Second Straight Week, Signaling A Potential Slowdown In The Housing Recovery

The surge in mortgage demand from homebuyers over the past two months appears to be waning, even as mortgage rates conti... Read more

Fed's Bullard Warns Of Financial Crisis Risks As Virus Cases Spike, FT Reports

St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank president James Bullard has warned that a growing number of bankruptcies due to the coron... Read more