Nurturing Hidden Champions
Samsung Electronics selected 13 business partners as this year’s hidden champions. It is going to choose 50 such companies before the end of this year to concentrate its support on them, too.
The yearly hidden champion program is to find those having technological capabilities and willing to innovate and help them in various ways so that they can rank at least fifth in the world and second in the domestic market in terms of market share.
This year, Samsung Electronics selected 11 partners of itself and two partners of Samsung Display out of 35 candidates. The former include Global Standard Technology, Wonik QnC and KH Vatec and the latter are Toptec and Uju Electronics.
Samsung Electronics has invested 36.2 billion won (US$32.9 million) in 13 companies while carrying out joint R&D and collaboration projects and sending 60 development, purchasing and manufacturing experts and consultants to them. As a result, four of the 13 have recorded the world’s second-highest market share in their respective industry segments with two of the others ranking third and fourth each. Samsung Electronics’ total investment in such hidden champions amounts to 225.1 billion won (US$205.0 million).