Samsung chief visits Middle East to explore opportunities, encourage employees

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, center, inspects Samsung C&T's tunnel construction site in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia on Sunday. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited the Middle East during Korea’s extended Chuseok harvest holidays, a move to seek new business opportunities in the region and to encourage Samsung employees overseas.

The Samsung chief has been making overseas trips during the national holiday periods since 2014 to inspect Samsung operations outside Korea and meet local business executives in the countries.

During this year’s Chuseok, Lee visited Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt, according to Samsung Electronics Monday. Lee paid a visit to the United Arab Emirates’ Barakah nuclear plant built by Korean companies in December last year as his first official overseas trip as the executive chairman.

On Sunday, Lee inspected a mountain tunnel construction site for Saudi Arabia’s NEON smart city project in Tabuk, located in the northwestern region of the country. Samsung C&T has begun the construction of a 12.5-kilometer (7.7 mile) tunnel, which will be part of the infrastructure of the long linear city The Line.

During his visit to Saudi Arabia, Lee encouraged Samsung employees at the site, handing out seafood gift sets for their families, and also discussed possible business expansion in the Middle East region with executives.

Ahead of his trip to Saudi Arabia, the Samsung head inspected a TV and tablet computer production facility Beni Suef, Egypt. Samsung Electronics plans to build a smartphone production facility in the country to expand its foothold in the region.

On Thursday, Lee listened to a briefing on Samsung Electronics’ investments in startups at the company’s research and development center in Israel, a country known for its strong tech startup ecosystem.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]