三星电子的成功(英文版).doc

IT HAS been a remarkable year for Samsung Electronics. Last weekend the company was one of the stars at the giant consumer-electronics show in Las Vegas where it unveiled a glittering array of new products. Among them was a notable first: a mobile phone that uses voice-recognition technology to convert speech into text messages offering respite to people who find typing messages on their mobiles tiny keyboard frustrating. Another Samsung model automatically scans business cards and inserts the details into the users address book.Just as impressive is the fact that this week Samsung will announce record-breaking annual results not just as South Koreas most profitable but also as its most visible company. Samsung has edged closer to its Japanese rival Sony as the worlds leading consumer-electronics firm. It is already the largest producer of many digital devices. It is poised to overtake Americas Motorola as the worlds second-biggest maker of mobile phones.Yet even as Samsung was closing the books on a triumphant 2004 its future was looking less certain. The Korean won soared to a seven-year high against the dollar reducing the value of much of its overseas earnings. While electronic gadgets such as digital cameras mobile phones and flat-screen televisions remain as popular as ever prices are falling. That cuts into Samsungs profit margins. Worst of all the companys memory-chip business by far its most profitable operation in 2004 is facing harder times as the notoriously cyclical semiconductor industry enters yet another downturn.For Samsungs bosses this may seem dishearteningly familiar. In 1995 the company also smashed earnings records only to see chip prices tumble and currencies head into turmoil. By the dark days of the 1997 Asian economic crisis Samsung was deep in debt and heading towards bankruptcy. But this time things should be different. The company has now been transformed in so many ways maintains Yun Jong-yong a company veteran who took over as chief ex