Lee Byung-Woo

This phenomenal growth track follows on from a 35% surge in sales during 2004. President and CEO Samsung MEAHQ Lee Byung-Woo says he expects 'growth across the board' but there is a very deliberate strategy behind Samsung's remorseless assault on the high-tech electronic equipment market.

By focusing on research and development - and an incredible 80,000 out of 180,000 staff world wide work in R&D - Samsung has kept its portfolio of products at the leading edge where profit margins are highest while following through with high sales volumes.

'For 2005 we see a lot of growth in mobile phones,' says Mr. Lee. 'In our region mobile phone penetration is still low in many countries: Only 40% in Saudi Arabia and less than 10% in Iran and Pakistan. These are huge potential markets for us.'

But in the UAE Samsung will continue to compete for market share by going for the state-of-the-art offering. Its new D500 GSM phone is a major digital convergence product which includes an MP3 player, Bluetooth for hands-free, one-hour video MPEG camera, 1.3-million pixel camera and a speakerphone attachment.

Samsung will also be introducing its 3G phones into the UAE market in the second quarter of 2005. These also promise to be high-specification units benefiting from the runaway success of 3G and broadband technology in Korea, the most wired nation on earth.

'The main problem for 3G here is the cost of air time, however,' explains Mr. Lee. 'In Korea we have got this problem sorted out and you can download a TV soap opera to watch on your 3G phone, and we already have a 5-million pixel camera phone so that you can take video and send it from your phone.

'These technologies are amazingly popular with young people who increasingly treat technology as a fashion item. One thing to watch out for is a screen that is so thin you can roll it up and put it in your pocket. We already have the prototype working.'

This brings Samsung's top man in the Middle East and North Africa to his second favorite topic: the rise of the Plasma and LCD TV screen and the fall of cathode ray tubes.

'Prices are coming down and screen sizes are going up,' he says. 'We have a 102-inch plasma screen now and a 57-inch LCD panel, the biggest in the world. The 42-inch PDP model which used to sell for $5,000 is now $3,000 and prices are still falling.'

Other innovations to watch for are a conventional TV that is just 29cm thick, half the width of standard models, which is due for launch this spring; and the DLP projection TV range which Mr. Lee says has a picture 'more crispy than PDP'.

It is hard to keep up with all the Samsung innovations but networking is another key area to watch with digital convergence technology allowing different pieces of electronic equipment to communicate.

As one of the region's biggest advertising spenders Samsung will also be maintaining its high visibility in the market place with another huge mobile phone outside the Dubai International Airport and two new massive announcements panels within the airport itself.

Mr. Lee appreciates the role of the Dubai airport as a regional hub and hopes to catch the attention of transit passengers. He has also sponsored flags over the length of Dubai's Maktoum Bridge to impress passengers as they leave the airport.

'We will be sponsoring key community events across the region, such as the Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament in March,' he adds. It seems nothing is being left to chance as one of the world's top 10 most profitable companies strives for an even bigger market share in the Middle East.