Note 7 banned from flights in China, aviation regulator says

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has been banned over safety concerns by transportation authorities in most parts of the world, and now similar restrictions are going into effect in China.

Starting Thursday, the smartphone is banned on all flights in the country, according to a statement by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

The news came as the South Korean electronics giant reported that its mobile earnings tumbled 96 percent year- on- year in the third quarter to 100 billion won ($ 87.63 million).

The withdrawal of the fireprone Galaxy Note 7 dragged Samsung’s mobile earnings in the third quarter to the lowest level in nearly eight years, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The scrapping of Samsung’s flagship phone even affected South Korea’s third- quarter GDP growth in quarterly terms.

Samsung was quoted by Reuters as saying that it was expanding its probe into the Note 7 fires beyond batteries, as it tried to reassure investors that it will get to the bottom of one of the worst product failures in tech history.

It also held out the prospect of greater returns by disclosing that it is weighing a share buyback, talked up its semiconductor business and promised to consider proposals for a corporate makeover from US hedge fund Elliott Management.

“We know we must work hard to earn back your trust and we are committed to doing just that,” said Co- Chief Executive Shin Jong- kyun as he apologized for the problem at a general meeting in Seoul following the release of the company’s results.

China is one of the few markets that was not affected by the original Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall, but this does not mean Samsung can maintain a good performance in the fiercely competitive country.

Samsung’s image is fading in China, as reflected by Counterpoint Technology Market Research’s report on Tuesday.

The report showed that the South Korean player was squeezed out of the top five smartphone vendors in China by shipments during the third quarter.

Local brands OPPO and Vivo became the two top brands in the market for the first time, with shares of 16.6 percent and 16.2 percent, respectively.