Samsung’s presence in Middle East, Africa phone market falls in Q2

Seoul, Samsung Electronics saw its market share decline in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) smartphone market in the second quarter of the year, a report has said, as Chinese brands expanded their presence.

The South Korean tech giant was the leading smartphone vendor with a 16 percent share in the April-June period, but its market share was down from 20 percent a year earlier, according to the latest report from industry tracker Counterpoint Research.

“The company boosted market spending at the start of the year, leading to good performance in Q1,” said Yang Wang, a senior research analyst at Counterpoint Research. “However, sales trended down in Q2 due to production disruption in Vietnam following COVID-19. We expect further difficulty in early Q3.”