Samsung slumps by US$22b as Note 7 alerts pile up

Seoul

SAMSUNG Electronics Co lost US$22 billion of market value over two days as investors factor in a bigger hit to its bottom line from widening bans and warnings on its Note 7 smartphones.

Shares have plunged 11 per cent since Friday, the biggest two-day decline since 2008, after US regulators joined the company in cautioning users to power down their Note 7s and refrain from charging them. Aviation authorities and airlines have called on passengers to stop using the gadgets during flights.

The stock drop suggests the damage to Samsung's brand could go well beyond the early estimates of US$1 billion for a single product's recall. The company has spent heavily on marketing its name in past years, and had hoped to get a head start on Apple by unveiling its device weeks before the new iPhone emerged. That advantage has now disappea…