SEOUL, April 27 (Reuters) – South Korea’s Samsung Electronics will withdraw the sale of its home appliances and TV sales business from China within this year, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Monday.
The company aims to make a final decision on discontinuing sales of home appliances and televisions in China as early as the end of April, Nikkei said, citing unnamed sources.
Samsung Electronics will retain its local production in China for home appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners, using the facilities as supply hubs for overseas markets, the report said.
Nikkei said the biggest reason for the withdrawal is declining price competitiveness, adding that Chinese manufacturers, in addition to offering low product prices, have improved quality and are strengthening their presence in global markets.
Samsung Electronics said in a statement that it regularly reviews its global business structure in line with changes in the operating environment, adding that nothing has been decided regarding market speculation about a potential restructuring of its operations in China.
(Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Hyunjoo Jin in Seoul and Sam Nussey in Tokyo; Editing by Louise Heavens)
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