Samsung affiliate begins security business in China

An affiliate of South Korean conglomerate Samsung Group has launched a security business in China in a bid to tap into a growing need for security systems there, company officials said Monday. S1 Corp., South Korea's largest security provider, said it set up a China subsidiary this month in Beijing called Samsung Security Systems Technologies Ltd. It is the first South Korean company to enter China in the field of security services. The company, widely known in South Korea as the producer of unmanned security system Secom, holds about 50 percent market share in the country. S1 officials estimated that China's security system market will grow to US$26.5 billion by 2013 and will overtake North America as the largest market by 2018. Global security service providers, such as GE Co. and Honeywell International Inc., have already stepped into China, focusing on selling surveillance cameras used for monitoring. S1 officials said they company aims to develop a new business area in China by providing comprehensive security solutions for Chinese customers.