country's unfavourable economic environ ment, compared with 12-18 months in the past few years. In addition, half the country's popula- tion already have smartphones. Mr Wichai said low-end smartphones priced below 5,000 baht still dominate the local handset market, with more than a40% market share. Sales of mid-tier smartphones priced from 5,000-15,000 baht accounted for 40%, with the rest high-end smartphones. He said sales of smartphones in Thai land are forecast at 15-18 million units this year, about the same as last year. "We expect to continue our leadership in the local market," said Mr Wichai. Samsung is focusing on developing new innovative devices in order to drive its sales. He said Thailand is Southeast Asia's largest smartphone market for Samsung in terms of sales. Opas Cherdpunt, managing director of M Vision, the organiser of Thailand Mobile