Samsung heir heads to Shenzhen for business meeting with BYD

Samsung Electronics heir apparent and Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong departed for Shenzhen on Wednesday with the presidents of the tech titan’s semiconductor division.

According to the industry, the heir left for the Chinese version of Silicon Valley with the company’s chipmaking unit head Kim Ki-nam, memory business head Jin Gyo-young and system LSI business head Kang In-yup.

Samsung Display CEO Lee Dong-hoon also joined the business trip.

“The vice chairman and presidents are scheduled to hold meetings with Chinese business partners including BYD,” a Samsung official said. 

Samsung holds a 1.92 percent stake in the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD.

Considering the planned meeting with BYD officials, Lee’s latest trip is assumed to be related to the company’s strategy to accelerate the automotive electronics business that was mainly led by the vice chairman.

Lee was the one who oversaw the acquisition of US infotainment system maker Harman in 2016.

The latest trip to China marks Lee’s second overseas activity since he was released from jail in February.

“There are some issues for Samsung to resolve in China, such as low sales of smartphones and electric vehicle batteries, so Lee’s visit could be considered significant,” an industry official said.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)