Samsung’s Lee likely to meet Apple, Google, MS CEOs during US trip

 Samsung Group leader Lee Jae-yong will meet with chief executives of leading US companies, including Apple Inc.’s Tim Cook and Google LLC’s Sundar Pichai, as he travels to the US to coincide with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to Washington.

The chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest memory chip and smartphone maker, will embark on a US trip this weekend and remain there until mid-May, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

During his extended US stay, the chairman, widely known in international business circles by his English name Jay Y. Lee, will likely have separate meetings with the CEOs of Apple and Google in Silicon Valley in the second week of May, sources said.

Apple is a Samsung competitor with its iPhones fiercely competing with the Galaxy series of smartphones. At the same time, Apple is a major customer of Samsung’s memory chips and Samsung Display Co.’s OLED mobile screens.

Google is a client of Samsung’s foundry, or contract chipmaking, business as well as the Korean company’s partner in the virtual reality and augmented reality business.

During their meetings, Lee and his US partners will explore new business opportunities, sources said.

PART OF ECONOMIC DELEGATION

Lee is part of the economic delegation of Korean President Yoon, who embarks on a six-day state visit to the US on Monday. Yoon and his US counterpart Joe Biden will have a summit meeting on April 26.

Analysts said the summit will be a litmus test for Biden’s “unwavering commitment” to one of its key allies over tricky semiconductor and battery issues involving the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.

Samsung and its crosstown rival SK Hynix Inc., the world’s two largest memory chipmakers, have been jittery about the Biden administration’s Chips for America program, which comes with tough conditions for foreign recipients.

Home to the world’s two largest memory chipmakers, Korea has been torn between its traditional ally, the US, and its largest trading partner China, in an escalating fight for semiconductor supremacy.

The Biden administration has been ratcheting up pressure on its allies, including Korea, to build more chip plants in the US to create jobs for Americans and to keep China’s rising influence in check.

Samsung’s Lee and other Korean business leaders are expected to assist the Korean president in negotiations on the Biden administration’s tax incentives and subsidies for chipmakers and battery manufacturers.

US, SAMSUNG’S LARGEST MARKET

The US is Samsung’s largest overseas market with sales revenue from its US subsidiaries last year reaching 86 trillion won ($65 billion).

Lee’s latest US trip, his first since November 2021, will also take him to other parts of the country where he will seek closer cooperation with Samsung’s business partners, including those in the telecommunications and biotechnology sectors.

Industry watchers said he may meet with Microsoft Corp. CEO Satya Nadella, Amazon chief Andy Jassy and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg.

There is also market talk of Samsung tapping the possibility of participating in a 5G network construction project led by T-Mobile.

In Massachusetts, Lee is expected to meet with Moderna co-founder and Chairman Noubar Afeyan.

Samsung Biologics Co. has made Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine under contract.

Industry sources said Lee is unlikely to visit Samsung’s new foundry chip plant under construction in Taylor, Texas, given the political sensitivity of chip issues between the US and China.

Last November, Samsung announced a $17 billion project to build a foundry factory in Taylor, about 25 km from Austin, where its current contract-manufacturing operations are located.

The $17 billion spending marks Samsung’s largest investment in the US and brings its total US investment to over $47 billion since it began operations there in 1978.

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang at hjs@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.