Today officials at LG have denied an earlier report from The Korean Times that stated LG was partnering with Huawei in order to penetrate into the entry level smartphone market. When asked about the alleged joint venture LG officials, speaking to The Verge said “there is no discussion now or in the past with Huawei on any aspects of LG Electronics’ business.”
The Korean Times article that initiated the rumor had quoted senior analyst Mark C. Newman from the U.S. financial analysis firm Sanford C. Bernstein who had said that “LG is considering establishing a JV with Huawei to revive its smartphone business.” And that LG was feeling “a sense of urgency” because it was falling behind in growing markets such as China and India.
Judging by the quotes provided by The Verge, LG is pretty adamant that it is not entering into a joint venture or any other partnership with Huawei. While Newman seemed to have missed the mark in his analyst, the connection would make sense, as LG has been falling behind with entry level phones, especially in the emerging markets and a joint venture with Huawei would seemingly be the best way to solve that.
We will keep you up to date if anything changes.
