South Korea’s LG to shut its loss-making smartphone division

Dropping out of the fiercely competitive smartphone market will let it focus on growth areas such as smart homes and electric vehicle parts.

South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc will wind down its loss-making mobile phone division after failing to find a buyer, making it the first major smartphone brand to completely withdraw from the market. The company will end production and sales of mobile phone products on July 31 to focus resources on growth areas including electric vehicles (EVs), smart homes, robotics and artificial intelligence, it said in a statement. Phones constituted 8.2 percent of LG sales last year and there will be a short-term loss of revenue, but the company expects the closure to be financially favourable in the long run. It will strengthen its car parts business and continue to develop mobile technologies such as sixth-generation networking and cameras, it said.