Samsung Backs Away From Restructuring Plan, Gears Up For Galaxy S8 Release
Samsung on Friday backed away from a planned corporate restructuring as the company is going all out to come up with marketing strategies to best promote its upcoming Galaxy S8 device.
Following the recall of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone and under pressure from activist shareholders to improve corporate governance, Samsung Electronics said last year that it was considering splitting the company in two.
Speaking during the company's annual general meeting on Friday in Seoul,
Kwon Oh-Hyun, board chairman of Samsung Electronics said the firm had reviewed legal and tax issues around proposed division into a holding company and an operating unit, and identified "some negative effects".
Various Samsung units have cross-shareholdings in other parts of the group, a structure that enables the Lee family to control the business empire.
A promised new governance committee will still be set up by the end of April, Kwon said.
Samsung plans to showcase its new flagship Galaxy S8 smartphones next week in New York and London.
The company is betting that the unveiling and the consumer reception will help it overcome the tainted image caused by the faulty Galaxy Note 7 phablets.
Industry watchers expect the Galaxy S8 will boast technologies including an iris scanner and the Bixby artificial-intelligence program, along with other attractive features that can raise its user experience to the next level.
Apparently taking the Galaxy Note 7 into consideration, industry sources said the Galaxy S8 will also come with a smaller yet "safer" battery capacity.
Samsung Electronics is expected to receive reservations from April 7 to 17, while shipping the device in advance for early adopters.