Samsung in talks with Nokia

Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung Group, discussed a software-development partnership and the mobile communications market with Nokia Oyj president and chief executive, Jorma Ollila, at Nokia’s headquarters in Helsinki, Finland, on Wednesday, Samsung said yesterday. According to Korea’s largest conglomerate, the heads of the two mobile communications firms agreed there was a lot of potential for collaboration, and that they would strengthen mutual cooperation. Mr. Lee plans to return to Korea later this month. His visit to Europe had two main objectives. One was to attend an International Olympic Committee (IOC) conference in Prague, Czech Republic, as an official to promote Pyeongchang, Gangweon province, as a host city for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Although Pyeongchang lost to Vancouver, Canada, by two votes, the city improved its international reputation. The other objective of Mr. Lee’s trip was to study nations with small populations but high industrial competitiveness, such as Sweden and Finland. Sweden, which has a population of 8 million, recorded a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of $25,400 last year, while Finland, with a population of 5 million, had a per-capita income of $26,200. Mr. Lee has often been quoted as saying “Korea needs to raise its per-capita income to $20,000.” Korea’s GDP per capita was $9,930 last year. After the IOC meeting, Mr. Lee visited the Wallenberg Group in Sweden, which owns high-profile subsidiaries ranging from mobile-phone producer LM Ericsson AB to Saab AB, a defense company. He then visited communications giant Nokia in Finland. On a comparative basis, the 10-largest companies in Sweden and Finland account for more than 65 percent of each nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). Korea’s 10-largest business groups account for only 46 percent of the nation’s GDP. In the Scandanavian countries, Samsung said, there were fewer regulations on businesses, and management control was stable. “The fact that, despite small populations and land sizes, they strategically nurtured Wallenberg Group and Nokia, and accomplished a per-capita income of over $20,000 suggests a lot to us,” Mr. Lee said, referring to the European nations. by Chung Sun-gu