Samsung sets push in cameras

Samsung Group sees a gold mine in the digital camera market and says it will step up its production of those devices. Samsung Techwin Co., a maker of digital cameras, said yesterday that senior officials at Samsung Techwin, Samsung Electronics Co., Samsung SDI and Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology would form a digital camera committee to shape strategies for the expansion. Samsung said that increases in digital camera sales would also boost the sale of components used in digital cameras such as flash memory, liquid crystal displays and secondary batteries. The company produces all those devices. “Samsung Electronics Co. is trying to develop small thin film transistor-liquid crystal displays installed in digital cameras on its own,” the official said. At present, Samsung Techwin imports all those screens from Sony Corp. of Japan. The official added that Samsung believes it has the resources within the group to develop a great deal more of the necessary technologies. Samsung Techwin plans to establish a research and development center in China next year, and shipping and storage centers in Singapore and France in 2005. Samsung Techwin said it now controls about 2 percent of the global digital camera market. by Kweon Hyuk-joo