Samsung boss visits Middle East to explore new business

By Baek Byung Yeul

Lee Jae-yong, CEO of Samsung Electronics and de facto leader of Samsung Group, visited Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel during the Chseok holiday to explore new business opportunities.

It also inspected ongoing projects in the Middle East managed by Korea’s largest conglomerate, the group said on Monday.

“The CEO took advantage of this year’s Chuseok holiday, the Korean Thanksgiving festival, to visit the three Middle Eastern countries. Since 2014, when he began leading the group’s management, Lee has traveled to overseas sites every holiday to inspect local businesses and meet with leaders of global companies,” Samsung said.

Lee’s visit to the Middle East comes a year after he visited the construction site of the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), shortly after taking over as CEO of Samsung Electronics last year. past.

Lee Jae-yong, front row center, president of Samsung Electronics, inspects the construction site of the underground tunnel of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM megacity, led by Samsung C&T, in Tabuk province, northwest Arabia Saudi, on Sunday (local time). Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

In Saudi Arabia, Lee inspected the construction site of a tunnel for NEOM, a megacity in which Samsung C&T is involved, in the northwestern province of Tabuk.

NEOM is a futuristic new city being built as part of Saudi Arabia’s massive national reform project, Vision 2030, and Samsung C&T is involved in building an underground railway, a key transportation and logistics tool for NEOM.

Last year, Samsung C&T began excavating a tunnel in a section of Spine, the underlying transportation network and infrastructure of THE LINE, a residential area in one of NEOM’s four districts. The company is responsible for a total of 12.5 kilometers of tunnel construction.

In a meeting with employees working in Saudi Arabia, Lee said: “The Middle East is a treasure trove of opportunities for future growth and innovative technologies.”

“Even though we are far from our families, let us boldly challenge ourselves with the mindset that we are at the forefront of securing the future of Samsung globally,” the CEO added.

Lee also sent seafood gifts to employees’ homes in Korea to thank them for their relatives’ hard work abroad, even though Korea is celebrating the Chuseok holiday.

Lee Jae-yong, center, president of Samsung Electronics, inspects the company’s television and mobile device manufacturing factory in Beni Suef province, Egypt, on Sunday (local time). Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

Before his visit to Saudi Arabia, Lee visited Samsung Electronic’s factory in Beni Suef, central Egypt, where he inspected television and tablet production sites and discussed Samsung’s business strategy in the region.

Egypt is a bridgehead for the Middle East and Africa, and Samsung has been producing televisions, monitors and tablets there since 2012.

“Samsung Electronics plans to build an additional smartphone production plant in Egypt to target the Middle East smartphone market,” the company said.

Lee Jae-yong, president of Samsung Electronics, takes a selfie with employees at the company’s television and mobile devices manufacturing factory in Beni Suef province, Egypt, on Sunday (local time). Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

On September 28, Samsung’s boss inspected the status of investments in innovative startups and new technologies at Samsung’s R&D center in Israel and examined ways to secure innovative technologies.

Dubbed a startup nation, Israel has more than 7,000 innovative technology startups, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, biological and autonomous driving, and Samsung operates the Israel R&D Center and Samsung Research Israel to secure new technologies.