South Korea-based global electronics giant Samsung will open its first factory in the MENA region in June of this year in Beni Suef, said Abdu Shalala, Samsung's director of regional marketing in South Korea. He added that the EGP 1.7bn factory will be used to manufacture television screens. A number of the region's residents have been trained to work in the factory, he continued, whose location was determined more than two years ago after a study was conducted analysing the suitability of markets in the region. The factory will be located one hour from the Sokhna port. George Sadiq, president of Samsung's marketing department in Egypt, said that Beni Suef was chosen due to its proximity to a number of Egypt's ports, and that as part of the company's contract, Samsung will be tasked with working to help develop a number of poorer regions throughout the governorate. Samsung's recorded sales for 2012 totalled $200bn, revealed Kiyang Tayi Bi, president of Samsung's Middle East and North Africa (MENA) branch, during the recent Samsung Forum 2013 in Dubai. He pointed out that the company's sales in the region had increased by 65% throughout 2012, attributing this to the company's focus on innovation and creativity when designing their products. Samsung's strategy for 2013, he said, would be to market new and innovative products in order to secure the company's position in the region. These will include cameras equipped with Wi-Fi networking technology and smart televisions that could run apps connected to the internet. He also expected the sale of tablet computers to witness a jump within the next two years, particularly as a means of improving educational services throughout the region. He stated that televisions released this year will include enhanced motion capabilities, in addition to evolution kits. Television sales, he said, had made up 19% of the company's sales and regional revenues by the end of 2012. Bi added during the conference that the company sought to further increase sales by releasing a number of new and innovative products, such as automated home appliances, smart grids, and cameras equipped with internet capabilities, in addition to new computer and television technology. He added that smart televisions, such as the LED 8,000, would soon be released throughout the region. The LED 8,000 is the fits first of its kind to come equipped with quad-core central computer processors. Fiyund Nayir, general director for the company's television screens department in the Gulf region, expected sales to increase by 20% throughout 2013, twice that which had been previously predicted by the company's research department. Mohamed Al-Badawi, regional production and marketing director for Samsung Electronics said that the company's share of the MENA region's digital camera market by the end of 2012 had increased to 21%. He went on to say that the company would begin a campaign to increase its share of sales of smart cameras in all MENA region markets beginning in March. He also added that Algeria was the number one consumer of Samsung digital cameras in the region, with company sales making up 35% of the local market, followed closely by Egypt. Badawi went on to say that Samsung Electronics was the second largest provider of digital cameras worldwide, representing 17% of the market. Yung Wu, director of communications for Samsung, expected to see a 10% increase in sales for mobile phones in the Gulf region throughout 2013. Samsung sales of mobile phones made up 50% of the Gulf market and 40% in the United Arab Emirates. Mobile phone sales in the Gulf, he said, with the exception of Saudi Arabia, had increased by 214% compared to the previous year, with the United Arab Emirates witnessing the highest rates of increase, totalling 340%, while growth rates for smart phones increased by 300% throughout the region, according to statistics from the John F Kennedy Research Institute. He added that these high growth rates could be attributed to increased local demand for widescreen television sets. Television sets considered “widescreen" included those beginning at 40 inches, with the largest, most expensive sets nearing 75 inches, and costing upwards of AED 94,000 ($25,600).
