Samsung, which launched its latest flagship smartphone Galaxy S24 series at the beginning of the year, shipped more than 60 million phones in Q1

Seoul is desperate to retain its world-leading role in semiconductors as AI takes chip development on to the next level

The key driver of the profit growth would be Samsung’s chip division, which is expected to report its first quarterly profit in five quarters

The US has reportedly been pressing Seoul, since the second-half of 2023, to implement export curbs targeting chip supplies to China

Brands like Tecno, Infinix and iTel, which have never been sold in mainland China, accounted for 48% of the smartphone market in Africa in 2023

The Joe Biden Administration is expected to begin handing out subsidies to top semiconductor companies in the coming weeks, according to a WSJ report

The US firm sold one in five of all handsets last year, though overall sales dropped as consumers cut their spending

Tokyo has been offering significant subsidies to domestic and foreign chipmakers to rebuild its semiconductor industry

The world's largest contract chipmaker, TSMC, was given a one-year waiver for its factory in Nanjing, China, but is now looking for an indefinite extension

The world's biggest maker of memory chips, smartphones and TVs is likely to see a third-quarter earnings plunge, according to forecasters

Samsung makes about 40% of its NAND flash chips at its plant in Xian, China, while SK Hynix makes about 40% of its DRAM chips in Wuxi

The extension would mark an end to business uncertainty for South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix who have invested billions in their chip fabs in China