Samsung may have scaled back investment in 2011

Samsung, Korea’s largest family-owned conglomerate, is estimated to have invested less than planned last year amid global economic uncertainties, industry sources said yesterday.

The group, which controls tech giant Samsung Electronics, spent roughly 1 trillion won less than its initial plan of 47.8 trillion won ($45.1 billion), according to the sources.

Last year, it announced plans to invest the record amount and hire an all-time high of 26,000 new employees as part of efforts to secure new growth engines and contribute to the nation’s economic development.

Under the plan, Samsung had pledged to increase facility investment by 11 percent to 31 trillion won, while raising R&D investment 13 percent on-year to 13.6 trillion won. The remainder was set aside for capital investment.

Samsung, however, is estimated to have spent less than the planned amount as some of its key units delayed business plans amid a slowdown in China’s growth and lingering euro zone concerns.

Flagship unit Samsung Electronics spent 18.5 trillion won on facility investments in the first nine months of last year, roughly 74 percent of its plan to spend 25 trillion won, according to its third-quarter corporate report.

In 2011, the company invested 22.7 trillion won in facility investments, 300 billion won less than the 23 trillion won it had pledged to spend.

The tech giant is expected to disclose its annual investment results on Friday when it announces its fourth-quarter earnings.

Meanwhile, eyes are on whether the leading conglomerate will announce another record investment plan, buoyed by the success of its Galaxy S3 smartphone, which propelled it to record earnings.

Earlier this year, Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee told reporters that he plans to increase the level of investment if possible.

Company officials say a schedule to announce this year’s plan has yet to be confirmed. Last year, it announced its annual investment plan on Thursday.

Yonhap