SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday that it expects a significant increase in mobile phone sales this year as it rolls out 20 new smartphones and aims to become one of the world's top two sellers by 2012.
The Seoul, South Korea-based company expects to sell 140 million mobile phones in 2010, Skott Ahn, CEO of its mobile phone unit, told reporters. That would be an increase from estimated sales of 117 million last year.
Ahn said that LG Electronics recorded global market share in the double digits in 2009 for the first time despite a five percent contraction in the worldwide market.
"In 2010 we'll be building the foundation to become a global top two" by 2012, Ahn said.
LG Electronics currently ranks No. 3 in mobile phones behind top seller Nokia Corp. of Finland and South Korean rival Samsung Electronics Co., which ranks second.
The company is also a major seller of flat screen televisions, ranking No. 2 globally behind Samsung.
