Samsung Plans Aggressive Investments in 2014

Samsung is a well-known IT giant. It is making an aggressive move in healthcare areas like pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

From Yonhap:

Samsung Group, South Korea's top conglomerate, is expected to make aggressive investments in its mainstay businesses this year, industry sources said Sunday, with their focus on whether its annual investment will top 50 trillion won (US$47.4 billion).

The group has steadily increased its annual investment in facilities and research and development to some 49 trillion won last year from 42 trillion won in 2011.

According to the sources, Samsung Electronics Co, the world's largest smartphone maker, and Samsung Everland Inc., the de facto holding company of the group, will each spend 84.7 billion won to buy new shares issued by Samsung Biologics Co. next month.

Late last month, Samsung Electronics and Samsung Everland said they will invest a total of 600 billion won in the group's biopharmaceutical manufacturing unit by August.

Samsung Biologics was established in April 2011 as part of Samsung's plan to seek a new growth engine by diversifying its businesses outside its mainstay consumer electronics and mobile devices.

Half of the total investment will be spent on the second plant of Samsung Biologics, currently under construction. The second plant, to be equipped with 10 bioreactors with 15,000-liter working volumes, is scheduled to be completed by 2015. The company's first plant has two bioreactors with volumes of 15,000 liters.

A bioreactor is a device or system that supports a biologically active environment and are used to grow cells.

"We have expedited the groundbreaking date for the second plant from the initial 2015 as market demand for biologics has been growing at a faster pace," said an official at Samsung Biologics.

Last year, Samsung Biologics signed deals with Basel-based Swiss Loch Group and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) of the U.S.


http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2014/01/05/78/0501000000AEN20140105000600320F.html