SEOUL: South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics defied the global supply chain challenges to forecast a near-30-percent jump in third-quarter operating profits on Friday. The world's biggest smartphone maker said it expected its operating profits to reach around 15.8 trillion won ($13.3 billion) in a regulatory filing, up 27.9 percent year-on-year.

The company is the flagship subsidiary of the giant Samsung group, by far the largest of the family-controlled empires known as chaebols that dominate business in South Korea, the world's 12th largest economy.

The conglomerate's overall turnover is equivalent to a fifth of the country's gross domestic product.

Samsung Electronics estimated sales for the July-September period at 73 trillion won, up 9.0 percent year-on-year - a record for any quarter, a spokeswoman told AFP. The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on the world economy, with lockdowns and travel bans imposed around the globe for many months.