[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics announced on Oct. 24 that it would run a new compensation program, dubbed Galaxy Upgrade, for the Galaxy Note 7 users who have exchanged their handset with the Galaxy S7 or the S7 Edge.Those who participate in the program will receive a 50-percent discount, in an indirect manner, on their future purchase of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8. Samsung said the participants would have to first pay 12-month installments of the S7 or its curved-screen variant and retu

[THE INVESTOR] Chinese smartphone makers saw their market share increase in the August-September period, while Samsung Electronics and Apple appear to be losing steam.Recent data compiled by global market researcher Trendforce showed that the market share of Samsung and Apple in the third quarter dropped 2 percentage points and 2.1 percentage points, respectively, to 22.3 percent and 12.9 percent, compared to the second quarter of this year. Samsung and Apple took the top two spots in the global

[THE INVESTOR] Prior to Samsung Electronics’ annual reshuffle of its top brass and executives in December, a sense of anxiety has descended upon the world’s largest smartphone maker, which has been hit hard by the recent Galaxy Note 7 crisis, according to sources on Oct. 21.One of the focal points of this year’s reshuffle is whether Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who is now practically at the helm of the firm, would dismiss some of the top executives in the firm’s mobile business division, includin

[THE INVESTOR] Facing a series of class action lawsuits in South Korea and the US, Samsung Electronics has reportedly chosen two law firms Gwangjang and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan as its legal advisors.The Bell, a Korean news outlet, reported on Oct. 20 that the tech firm had selected law firms as its legal representatives in a bid to deal with the class action lawsuit filed by some US consumers and anticipated legal action of US mobile carriers, including AT&T.The law firms, which have b

[THE INVESTOR] In a desperate move to pacify its displeased Galaxy Note 7 users, Samsung Electronics  is considering cash discounts for their future purchase of the upcoming Galaxy S8 or the next Note phone next year, industry source said on Oct. 20. The new benefits come after a group of angry consumers on Oct. 19 hinted at filing lawsuits against Samsung to seek better compensation in the wake of the unprecedented recall of the fire-prone Note phone in Korea and the US, respectively. In Korea,

[THE INVESTOR] After less than an hour’s ride from Yeouido, a group of journalists hustled out of their bus, touching down in front of the LG Digital Park in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, which houses the assembly lines of LG Electronics’ high-end smartphone V20 in Pyeongtaek.The trip was made prior to the launch of the high-end mobile device in the US on Oct. 21, one of the global markets where the Korean tech firm still maintains quite high popularity and market share -- the firm’s market sha

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics’ plan to pack an iris scanner and a dual-lens rear-facing camera in the Galaxy S8 is expected to make up for the financial losses of lens suppliers caused by the short-lived Galaxy Note 7.Samsung is reportedly planning to incorporate the iris scanner, a killer feature of the Note 7, and the dual-lens camera, which is now mainstream in the top-tier handset segment.“Samsung never uses the same camera for its flagship models, upgrading the camera of its flagship d

[THE INVESTOR] Pharmaceutical firm Celltrion’s shares rose 7 percent on Oct. 18 to close at 107,000 won ($US94.9) on expectations of Israeli genetic drug firm Teva’s acquisition of the Korean firm.In an email interview with The Investor, the Israeli firm expressed its interest in buying the Korean firm when the latter is up for sale to strengthen its biosimilar portfolio.Related articles : Teva doesn’t rule out Celltrion acquisitionPfizer to launch Celltrion’s Inflectra in November“We will conti

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics is planning to ditch its existing smartphone marketing strategy and may release only one premium model annually to ensure product quality, according to Korean news outlet Newsis on Oct. 18.The tech giant has been releasing two flagship models every year -- Galaxy S in the first half and Galaxy Note in the latter half.This possible adjustment is largely due to the firm’s tight release schedule which effects product quality, the report said.Ever since Samsung was

[THE INVESTOR] The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, a state watchdog, has launched an investigation to find the exact cause of the fire and explosion of Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 7, according to industry sources. It is expected that it will take at least three months to wrap up the investigation as the fire and explosion cases could have been caused by multiple factors.A total of 10 members from business, academic and research sectors will serve as an advisory group.The advisor

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics mobile chief Koh Dong-jin, who has been spearheading the unit since December 2014, may be feeling the pain of the Galaxy Note 7 debacle the most. On Oct. 13, he pledged that he “would at any cost find the exact cause (of the faulty Galaxy Note 7) to restore trust of consumers so that they can use Samsung products without any safety concerns.”Admitting that he was frustrated as were others over the past weeks due to the Note 7 crisis, he apologized and expressed

[THE INVESTOR]  Just like the number 7 is considered a lucky number in many regions, the number 8 is an auspicious number in Chinese culture. It is because of its pronunciation, “ba”, which sounds like the Chinese word for prosperity, “fa”, and its shape represents a perfect balance. But for Samsung Electronics, the “ba” could mean bad luck. The year 2017 was supposed to be the best timing for the Korean tech giant to pour marketing resources in the all-important Chinese market along with the pl

[THE INVESTOR] In a bid to make up for snowballing profit losses due to the sales suspension of its Galaxy Note 7 handset, Samsung Electronics is increasing production of the flagship Galaxy S7 and lower-end smartphone models. “Samsung is planning to put more focus on the Galaxy S7 by ramping up production of the handset,” said an industry source who wanted to be unnamed, adding that the increased production is to minimize the anticipated profit drop for the rest of the year following the sales

[THE INVESTOR] Amid the ongoing Galaxy Note 7 crisis of its local rival Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics saw its shares rise 3.14 percent to 52,500 won (US$47.1) in early morning trading on Oct. 11.Samsung announced on Oct. 11 that it would temporarily stop selling the latest flagship smartphone at home and abroad amid the ballooning controversy surrounding the fire-prone Note 7.The decision sent Samsung’s shares down by 6.43 percent to 1,572,000 won in early morning trading.(theinvestor@hera

[THE INVESTOR]  No one anticipated events would unravel this way for Samsung Electronics and its flagship Galaxy Note 7. Expectations were quite high on the top-notch product, and the South Korean tech giant believed it would be able to claim the top spot in the premium smartphone sector this year, outpacing its archrival Apple. Soon after the release of the Note 7 in August, however, Samsung Electronics had to eat humble pie as it was inundated with reports of fires and explosions of the handse