Samsung Electronics likely to procure phone batteries from LG Chem: newspaper
[SEOUL] Samsung Electronics is in talks with LG Chem to make it one of its smartphone battery suppliers, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper said on Monday - a move that would diversify its supplier base after the failure of its Galaxy Note 7.
Samsung Electronics, the world's top smartphone maker, currently procures Note batteries from group firm Samsung SDI and China's Amperex Technology.
Chosun Ilbo quoted an industry official as saying that there was more than a 90 per cent chance of a deal being struck and said that Samsung Electronics would likely begin procuring LG Chem batteries from the second half of next year.
A Samsung Electronics spokeswoman did not have immediate comment on the report, while an LG Chem spokesman declined to comment.
Samsung Electronics announced the recall of 2.5 million fire-prone Note 7s in early September, a fault that was attributed to a defect in Samsung SDI battery. In October, it pulled the plug on the US$882 device after replacement phones using batteries from China's Amperex Technology also caught fire.
LG Chem currently makes phone batteries for its affiliate LG Electronics and US company Apple Inc, analysts said.
REUTERS
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Technology
'Harvesting data': Latin American AI startups transform farming
After long peace, Big Tech faces US antitrust reckoning
Tech’s cash crunch sees creditors turn ‘violent’ with one another
Tech millionaires chase billionaire tax shields with ‘swap fund’
Elon Musk’s Starlink profits are more elusive than investors think
Hollywood animation, VFX unions fight AI job cut threat