Samsung warns of slowing growth

Samsung Electronics sees growth slowing in key markets and uncertainties increasing around trade protectionism and currency fluctuations.

In his annual New Year’s speech on Monday, Samsung Vice-Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer Kwon Oh-hyun urged employees to learn from costly failures as the consumer electronics giant seeks to recover from 2016’s bruising debacle surrounding the Note 7 smartphone.

“We should not compromise with even the tiniest problems in product quality,” Kwon said at the company’s headquarters in Suwon, South Korea. “Let’s recover our pride by improving manufacturing processes and safety inspections.”

The Note 7’s tendency to catch fire prompted a global recall and the