Reports are circulating that LG, once a top four global smartphone vendor, may exit the market, where it has been losing revenues and market share in recent years. The sector has become increasingly concentrated in the hands of Samsung, Apple and Huawei, as well as low cost providers in China and India. In a letter to staff, CEO Kwon Bong-seok warned of a “change in the direction of the smartphone business operation”, where LG has reportedly lost about KRW5 trillion ($4.5bn) over the past five years. In the third quarter of 2020, it shipped just 6.5m phones, compared to 7.2m in the year-ago quarter, and the unit has posted losses for 23 consecutive quarters. An official company letter later added…