S. Korean handset makers lose ground in global market

Posted on : 2007-01-29 20:40 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST

South Korean mobile phone makers saw their global market shares drop during the fourth quarter of last year amid intensifying competition, a report showed Monday.

According to the report by Strategy Analytics, the market share of Samsung Electronics Co., the world's third-largest mobile phone company, stood at 10.7 percent during the October-December period, down from 11.1 percent a quarter earlier.

Fifth-ranked LG Electronics Inc. also saw its market share decline to 5.7 percent from 6.6 percent, the report showed.

The market shares of the two South Korean firms declined as other major handset manufacturers gained ground in overseas markets.

Industry leader Nokia's market share rose to 35.2 percent from the previous quarter's 34.1 percent, with No. 2 Motorola seeing its figure jump to 21.9 percent from 18.2 percent, the report showed.

Sony Ericsson's market share rose to 8.7 percent from the 6.6 percent recorded three months earlier, widening the gap with its closest rival LG Electronics. The report comes amid mounting concerns that Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are losing ground in the face of fierce competition prompted by low-end handsets unveiled by global rivals.

In addition, the report forecast that global mobile phone makers will sell a combined 1.14 billion handsets this year, up 12 percent from last year.

Seoul, Jan. 29 (Yonhap News)

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