South Korea’s Samsung, stung by its global recall of the Galaxy Note 7 and subsequent halting of production, reportedly is looking to source batteries from LG Chem for its new smartphones.

According to the Nikkei newspaper, the world’s largest smartphone maker is holding talks with LG Chem about supplying batteries starting next year.

Two weeks ago Samsung pulled the plug on the Note 7 smartphone plagued with battery problems since its launch two months ago.

Samsung said in early September it determined the defective batteries were manufactured by Samsung SDI, which supplied about 70 per cent of the batteries for the Note 7 before the recall. But the company said the batteries made by its other supplier, Amperex Technology, did not face the same issues.

Following the second batch of fires in early October involving replacement models (with a different battery), Samsung has not indicated the cause of the overheating.

The Financial Times, citing a source familiar with the problem, reported last week the battery overheating could be due to changes to the Note 7’s processor to speed up battery charging. As a precautionary measure, a month ago Samsung issued a software update that limited Note 7 batteries from charging to more than 60 per cent.

Samsung said it expects to take a further KRW3.5 trillion ($3 billion) profit hit over the next two quarters as a result of the issue.