China's ATL to provide Samsung's replacement batteries

An employee helps customers purchase a Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Note 7 new smartphone at its store in Seoul, South Korea, September 2, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

China's Amperex Technology Limited is now providing batteries for Samsung Electronics Co's Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, after faulty batteries prompted a worldwide recall of the phones, an ATL manager said on Monday.

Battery shipments from ATL, whose headquarters are in Hong Kong, will increase greatly, said the manager, who declined to give his name. He did not provide the number of batteries to be shipped.

ATL also offers batteries for other domestic and foreign smartphone manufacturers

The confirmation followed a report by South Korea's Yonhap News Agency that Samsung will now use only batteries provided by ATL for the Galaxy Note 7.

Samsung declined to comment on Monday.

Following the recall, which was announced earlier this month, Samsung ordered an additional 4 million batteries from ATL, Yonhap reported on Sunday, citing unidentified industry sources.

Shares of Samsung Electronics plunged by 6.98 percent on Monday after the South Korean electronics giant urged users worldwide to stop using its Galaxy Note 7 following reports of exploding batteries.

Some Chinese experts urged further investigation of the reports that the smartphones had exploded, saying other parts might have been faulty.

Meanwhile, international airlines and aviation agencies have banned passengers from switching on or charging the Samsung phones during flights.

Chinese airlines such as Air China said they haven't received a notification to ban in-flight use of Galaxy Note 7 phones.

South Korean electronics giant Samsung decided to cease sales and recalled 2.5 million Note 7 units in 10 markets, including Singapore, the United States and South Korea, on Sept 2. The decision came after some of the phones were found to have faulty batteries.

The Galaxy Note 7 recall does not cover customers in China. A statement from Samsung China confirmed that the smartphones sent for customers in China use batteries from a different supplier.

ATL is poised to become the only battery provider for Samsung, which is the world's largest smartphone maker by shipments, the Yonhap agency said.

Since ATL also supplies batteries for Apple's iPhone series, Samsung could face supply problems if demand soars for the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, Yonhap said.