Seoul, Jul 5 (IANS): South Korean tech giant Samsung is staring at a big slump in its profits in the second quarter (Q2) of 2019. The handset maker has warned that its profits were likely to drop about 56 per cent year-over-year to 6.5 trillion Won ($5.6 billion) in the wake of falling chip market and global industry downturn.

"While Samsung hasn't explained what dragged it down this quarter, its performance early in the year suffered primarily due to a drop in memory chip sales.

"While its increased profits over the first quarter suggest that the Galaxy S10 and A-series launch helped, they weren't popular enough to reverse trends," the Engadget reported on Friday.

The tech major's profit growth has remained under strain since 2017 as Chinese smartphone players such as Xiaomi and OnePlus continue to eat into its share in the India smartphone business.

In the TV market too in which Samsung continues to be the largest player, Chinese companies have started making inroads.

Samsung, however, said earlier last week that its business in India is continuing to grow and expand.

"We have demonstrated our commitment by building the world's largest mobile factory in Noida, investing in local R&D and we are exploring new businesses such as 5G Network, among others," a company spokesperson said.