Huawei's US woes give Samsung and Chinese rivals chance to strike

Competitors poised to gain in Europe and Middle East

20190129N Huawei product presentation Beijing

People arrive for a product presentation at Huawei in Beijing on Jan. 24. The world's second-largest smartphone maker stands to lose ground not only to top rival Samsung but also to smaller Chinese players Xiaomi and Oppo. © Reuters

COCO LIU, CHENG TING-FANG and LAULY LI, Nikkei staff writers

January 30, 2019 23:45 JST

HONG KONG/TAIPEI -- Huawei Technologies' mounting legal troubles in the U.S. have given smartphone rivals such as Samsung Electronics a chance to regain lost ground as they battle the Chinese tech giant for share in a slowing global market.

Smartphone makers who have felt the impact of Huawei's aggressive growth in recent years stand to benefit if Washington moves to ban U.S. exports of vital components to the world's second-largest handset maker, say analysts and industry experts.