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| Galaxy S20 in red / Yonhap |
By Kim Hyun-bin
Samsung Electronics has denied reports that it temporarily halted orders from its Taiwanese S20 smartphone component suppliers, Wednesday, in response to reports that initially surfaced in Taiwan.
"We have never sent an official request. The report is groundless," a Samsung official said.
The remark was made in response to a Taiwanese media report claiming that Taiwanese component suppliers failed to receive parts orders from Samsung Electronics as the COVID-19 pandemic hurt the sales of Samsung's flagship Galaxy S20 smartphone. The reports also claimed Samsung sent an official request.
Industry watchers say it is uncommon for large corporations to abruptly halt agreed upon orders.
"Large companies conduct a demand forecast months in advance before placing the orders, so there are only a few incidences of a firm abruptly halting an order," an industry official familiar with the matter said.
Four firms were mentioned in the Taiwanese report including Largan, a firm specialized in lens modules, and AURAS, which develops cooling modules. According to the paper, starting last December, the mentioned firms supplied Samsung with the S20 components throughout March.
But in April the tech giant's India factory halted operations due to COVID-19, which led to the alleged temporary halt in supply orders. Although production at the India plants has resumed, the report says Samsung's S20 orders were not able to bounce back and have been utilizing its stockpiles instead of ordering new supplies.
Samsung is expected to unveil its next flagship, the Galaxy Note 20, and the Note 20+ in August this year.
