VietNam Business: Korean firms

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Korean firms eye Da Nang

DA NANG — A seminar themed "Promoting trade investment from South Korea in Da Nang" was held yesterday by the Da Nang People's Committee and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).

The event which was attended by 15 South Korean enterprises was aimed at enhancing co-operation and promoting investment and trade between South Korea and the central city of Da Nang.

Da Nang's Investment Promotion Centre presented the city's potential, sectors of the city that were calling for investment and the preferential policies and favourable investment environment of Da Nang to the companies.

Phung Tan Viet, deputy chairman of the Da Nang People's Committee confirmed the city would continue to create good conditions for enterprises to invest in the city and guide the relevant agencies to rapidly solve any difficulties in the investment process.

Representatives of the enterprises said the city's authorities actively supported enterprises in the granting of investment licences, land clearance, building, logistics and import and export. — VNS

Monday, September 13, 2010

South Korean firms prepare to fight Apple onslaught

The 4-inch Samsung Galaxy S smartphone (left) and the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet PC (right)

Photo: www.engadget.com

South Korean firms said Thursday they would soon release tablet PCs to contend with the imminent arrival of Apple's iPad after the roaring success of the American firm's smartphones.

Top mobile phone operator SK Telecom said it would launch the Galaxy Tab, a seven-inch touchscreen tablet from Samsung Electronics that is smaller than the 9.7-inch iPad.

"We are aiming for a September release. We are also considering diverse tablet PCs at the moment," SK spokesman Kim Dae-Woong told AFP, adding that pricing and the exact release date had still to be decided.

Global computer and handset makers have scurried to respond to the success of Apple's tablet PCs, released in April. The US company sold more than three million iPads within less than three months of the product's release.

Apple's local distributor, KT Corp, said it had been in talks with the US company to offer the iPad in South Korea. Spokesman Lee In-Won said the release could be around early September.

The Galaxy Tab will be unveiled on September 2 at a trade show in Germany. Its local rival, LG Electronics, has promised to release an Android-based tablet PC before December.

Tablet PCs feature bigger screens than smartphones and have no keyboards, instead employing touchscreens or stylus pens as input devices.

Apple distributor KT plans to introduce a low-end tablet PC before bringing the iPad into the tech-savvy country.

KT said it had sold one million iPhones, including about 880,000 of the iPhone 3 and 3GS, since their debut nine months earlier.

It has also received 212,000 pre-orders for the iPhone 4, reflecting its "through-the-roof popularity", spokesman Jin Byung-Kwon said.

South Korea's mobile phone market is one of the world's most vibrant, with 45 million users in a population of 49 million. But smartphones have a relatively small share, implying huge growth potential. Since its launch in June, Samsung has sold more than 900,000 Galaxy S smartphones.

VietNam Business