South Korea’s Samsung is reportedly close to finalising a smartphone battery supply deal with LG Chem, which will come into effect in the back half of 2017.

According to local newspaper Chosun Ilbo, a deal is more than 90 per cent likely. LG Chem makes handset batteries for its affiliate LG as well as Apple, Reuters reported.

Samsung, the world’s top smartphone maker, axed the Galaxy Note 7 in early October after several devices caught fire. While the vendor initially blamed a faulty batch of batteries from Samsung SDI for the problem, and recalled 2.5 million units, it conceded defeat after some initial replacement devices featuring batteries from its other supplier, China’s Amperex Technology, were affected by the same problem.

The Korean vendor started a campaign in November to rebuild consumer trust in its brand, first through a series of adverts in the US announcing it was conducting a thorough investigation and latterly with promises it would publish the results of the probe by the year-end.

Earlier in the month, the company revealed that around 10 per cent of European Galaxy Note 7 owners have failed to return their devices some three months after it originally recalled the unit.