HONG KONG (Yonhap) -- Korean tech behemoth Samsung Electronics Co. will withdraw its air conditioner business from China, as the related business has not been profitable in the world's No. 2 economy, industry insiders said Monday.
Samsung Electronics gradually reduced the output volume of air conditioners in its only China plant, located in Jiangsu Province, starting earlier in January and fully stopped churning out air conditioners in the plant in March, the insiders said.
"There are still some products for sale in retail shops, but they are mainly leftover inventory," a source told Yonhap News Agency.
The production stoppage was attributed to the lack of economies of scale in the Chinese output of air conditioners, which could not bring about cost advantages over local competitors.
The Samsung plant in Jiangsu started producing air conditioners in 2001. Its annual output was 160,000 units in 2002 and reached 500,000 units in 2005.
Earlier in 2011, LG Electronics Inc., Samsung's home-grown rival, withdrew its air conditioner unit business from China. (Yonhap)