As concern mounts over smartphone's safety after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a warning, Samsung shares drop significantly.
Galaxy Note 7 FAA Warning Wipes Out Samsung's Market Value
According to The Wall Street Journal, on Friday, Sept. 9, after the FAA air-safety regulators issued a warning to passengers on the company's Galaxy Note 7 fire risks, smartphone investors wiped more than $10 billion off the market value of Samsung Electronics Co. In early Friday trade, shares of Samsung Electronics listed in South Korea were down close to 3 percent.
U.S. authorities have warned airline passengers to not charge or switch on their Galaxy Note 7 smartphones when on board the plane as well as not packing the smartphones into any checked-in luggage. According to BBC News, the South Korean high-tech giant was already aware of fire risks posed by its Galaxy Note 7 mobile device. After several reports emerged of the device exploding during or after charging, Samsung recalled the phone last week.
The US trade group Airlines for America announced that the Note 7 safety issue is closely monitored. Aside the FAA, flight companies such as Virgin Australia and Qantas have also told customers not to use or charge the Samsung smartphone during flights. U.S. TV channel Fox 10 reported earlier this week that a faulty Galaxy Note 7 has provoked a fire in a family's Jeep.
Samsung assured its customers that it would speed up shipments of replacement Galaxy Note 7 smartphones in order to ease the growing safety concerns. According to the South Korean high-tech company, battery problems were behind the phones catching fire.
The Galaxy Note 7 smartphone was launched last month. Critics and consumers have otherwise generally well-received the new mobile device. Samsung shipped globally already around 2.5 million Note 7s. The company announced on its website that those customers who have already bought the smartphone will be able to have it replaced with a new one in about two weeks.
