A Seoul court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to prove that the merger between two Samsung affiliates in 2015 was unlawfully conducted to strengthen Chairman Lee Jae-yong's control over the tech conglomerate. A South Korean court on Monday cleared Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong of financial misconduct charges related to a 2015 merger which prosecutors said was aimed at consolidating his power within the conglomerate. The verdict potentially eases Lee's legal troubles, following the Samsung heir's pardon for a separate conviction of bribing a former president that toppled the government of President Park Geun-hye. Court finds insufficient evidence The Seoul Central District Court found insufficient evidence to support the claims that the merger between two Samsung affiliates — Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries — was unlawfully intended to bolster Lee's grip over Samsung Electronics. The court said it did "not recognize intention to harm shareholders" through the merger. "Solidifying Lee's control and ensuring his succession wasn't the only purpose of the merger," the court ruled. Lee denied wrongdoing, arguing the merger was part of "normal business activity" that was intended to benefit shareholders.   "I swear I had never imagined increasing my stake at the expense of causing damage to other shareholders," he said in his closing argument, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency. The prosecution, which had proposed a five-year prison sentence for Lee on charges including stock price manipulation and accounting fraud, has not disclosed plans for an appeal. Lee served 18 months in prison In 2017, Lee was convicted over separate bribery charges related to the 2015 deal and served 18 months in prison. He was initially sentenced to five years for bribing former President Park Geun-hye to win government support for the merger, seen as crucial for his control over Samsung. He was pardoned in 2022 by current President Yoon Suk Yeol with the government seeking his help to overcome a "national economic crisis."

The Korean tech giant owed the slump in profits to weakened demand for memory chips, as the end of lockdown diminished previous demand for new computers and smartphones. South Korean tech giant Samsung has reported its lowest quarterly profit in 14 years, with a global decline in microchip demand slowing sales and profits. The company said on Thursday its operating profit plummeted by 95% from a year earlier. It also reported an 87.4% slump in net income for the 2023 Q1 compared to the same quarter last year. The Samsung chip division recorded its first operating loss since 2009, when the world was dealing with the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The Korean giant's chip production reported 4.58 trillion won (approximately $3.3 billion; €3 billion) in losses. What caused the drop in profit? Samsung owed its slowed profit to slowing consumer spending on electronics, coupled with the current excess in microchip production, which fails to match the slowing demand. The core memory business saw almost unprecedented demand during the two years of the pandemic, with worldwide lockdowns fueling smartphone and computer sales. This created first a global shortage and then an uptick in the memory chips' production. However, since lockdowns receded, and with rising global inflation, computer sales have dropped again, causing chip prices to drop as the demand shrinks. The memory chips usually account for about half of the Korean tech giant's profits. Samsung said it expected memory chips' demand to "gradually recover" in the second half of 2023. It cited forecasts of declining customer inventory levels. Seoul announced last month that it would build the biggest chip center in the world, largely using some 300 trillion won of private investment from Samsung over the next 20 years.

Samsung India has announced plans to start the Samsung Finance plus service for customers in Kashmir that want to buy the company's Galaxy line of smartphones with financial aid. Samsung Finance Plus, a digital lending platform, provides financing opportunity to consumers for the purchase of Galaxy smartphones, said an official company release. “Fully Digital: Consumers go through a paperless journey with the in store Samsung promoter assisting the customer through the process," it added. Irfan Ahmed, MD at IA Multi Ventures, said: "It is an encouraging step by Samsung India who have come up with such a wonderful initiative for consumers affordability." Source: IBNS  

 Samsung Electronics estimated its first-quarter operating profit jumped 56 percent to a record high, likely because demand for memory chips continued to be robust, outweighing lower display sales to Apple. The South Korean tech giant said in its preliminary earnings report that its January-March operating income was an estimated 15.6 trillion won (14.7 billion dollars), compared with 9.9 trillion won a year earlier. The estimate was higher than expected. Sales rose 19 percent to an estimated 60 trillion won. The company did not disclose its estimated net income. It will announce breakdown figures among businesses and more details at the end of this month. Analysts said Samsung likely recorded lower profit in its display business that supplies OLED screens for Apple's iPhones but strong demand for memory chips outweighed weaker display sales. Samsung unseated Intel as the world's largest semiconductor maker last year on the back of solid demand for chips that hold data and help run programs faster for servers and phones. Analysts increased their forecasts of Samsung's memory chip profit this year as demand for data centers and servers increased the prices of the memory chips called DRAM. Samsung's mobile business is also expected to report a bigger-than-expected income for the first quarter. Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S9 smartphones in February, starting its sales sooner than the previous year's flagship phone. While consumers become more reluctant to spend big on the newest smartphone, sales of older and cheaper Galaxy phones remained solid. Source: AP. AH