Giant Samsung Punches Back

Emerging Markets

AS APPLE'S STEVE JOBS was merely unveiling what the new 3g iPhone would look like earlier this month, Samsung Electronics, under new CEO Lee Yoon-Woo, was already shipping its own look alike new 3G handset, the Omnia. The Korean giant has learned that while it can't beat competitors, it can upstage them: The new Apple (ticker: AAPL) gadget doesn't hit the streets until July 11.

For a decade now, Samsung (005930.Korea) has turned itself into a premier global integrated-electronics outfit that makes many end products -- like TVs.

But to investors, "Samsung remains mainly a semiconductor player exposed ...