Samsung Electronics will halt production at a TV factory in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin by the end of November, its latest step to streamline operations in the world’s second-largest economy where it is facing stiff competition and increasing labor costs.

The South Korean company said that the decision to close the plant, its sole TV production base in China, is part of its “ongoing efforts to enhance efficiency” in its manufacturing facilities, according to a report by Reuters Monday.

Samsung said that some of the workers and equipment at the plant are expected to be retained, Reuters reported.

The move marks the latest pullback by Samsung in its China operations at a time when the company faces increasing competition from homegrown smartphone brands and is shifting focus to other product areas such as superfast 5G wireless networks in the country.

Last year, Samsung closed its last smartphone plant in China, following the closure of two other manufacturing bases in Tianjin and Shenzhen in 2018. The company also plans to cease operations of its last computer plant in Suzhou.

The decision to close the TV plant comes a week after Samsung agreed to sell its majority stake in an liquid crystal display (LCD)-making factory in the city of Suzhou to TCL Technology Group in order to free up more resources to focus on more advanced and less power-consuming technologies based on organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) and quantum dot displays.

Samsung will continue to have a manufacturing presence in China including a home appliance plant in Suzhou and a chip factory in Xi’an.

Contact reporter Ding Yi (yiding@caixin.com)

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