By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Samsung Electronics (OTC:SSNLF) stock (KS:005930) closed 1.4% higher Tuesday in Seoul trading as the company announced a revamp of its business structure as well as a reshuffle in top management.
The Korean giant will merge its mobile and consumer electronics divisions. It also has two new co-chief executives now, down from three earlier who were appointed in the last big shake-up in 2017.
The exercise is aimed at reviving growth in its slowing mobile phone business, capturing a higher share of the booming chip and component market, and creating a unified platform for its various devices and consumer appliances, from washing machines and air-conditioners to refrigerators.
The mobile phone business's contribution to Samsung’s profits has shrunk to 21% from nearly 70% in the last decade and it now trails the company’s component division, which also houses chip-making. The latter has benefitted from the surge in demand for digital and Cloud services. The mobile phone business has got sandwiched between Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone at the top end and cheaper products from Chinese rivals Xiaomi (OTC:XIACY) and Huawei.
Han Jong-hee, the head of Samsung’s visual display business, will become a co-CEO, leading the newly merged division that is also home to TV-manufacturing.
Kyung Kye-hyun, as the other co-CEO, will head the semiconductor division at a crunch time for the sector. The company is betting big on a sustained increase in chip demand and last month chose Texas for a new plant that will cost some $17 billion.