South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said it expects a difficult business environment in 2016 due to weak global economic conditions and heightened competition in key businesses including memory chips and smartphones.
In a statement on Monday, Samsung said Chief Executive Kwon Oh-hyun told employees in a New Year’s address that low global growth will persist this year, with greater uncertainty stemming from issues such as financial risks for emerging countries.
The comments, which didn’t disclose specific forecasts, come amid growing concerns that October-December results for the world’s biggest maker of smartphones and chips may be weaker than previously expected. By 0302 GMT (11.02 p.m. ET Sunday) Samsung shares were down 3.4 percent, after earlier dropping 3.5 percent to a three-month low, while the broader Seoul market was off 1.5 percent. FULL REPORT