According to Korea IT Times, Cheil Industries, a Samsung Group company specializing in textiles, will invest up to 1.8 trillion won (US $1.7 billion) for the next three years in high value-added electronic and chemical materials. The company said this on November 7 in a regulatory filing. The areas it will focus on include OLED (organic light-emitting diode), rechargeable battery separators, and polarized film.
Earlier in September, the company had announced that it would hand over its fashion business to an affiliate Samsung Everland Resort by December this year. It will secure a fund of 1.5 trillion won through the deal and use the whole amount to invest in new materials business. As part of this strategy, Cheil Industries had already acquired a controlling stake in Novaled AG of Germany, a world-class provider in OLED technologies and materials, in August.
Established in 1954 as Cheil Woolen Fabrics Industries, it has branched out into new businesses such as fashion (1980), chemical (1990s), and electronic chemical materials (2000s). Since 2010, Cheil Industries has moved in to a new polycarbonate-making business. In addition, it also produces flame-retardant ABS, sheet ABS, flame-retardant high-impact PS, heat-resisting ABS for vehicles, and artificial marble. As of the end of 2012, materials account for over 70 percent of the company's total sales revenue.
