Initial Samsung production target is 10 million Galaxy S8 phones

WASHINGTON – Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) has set an initial production target of 10 million Galaxy S8 smartphones, South Korea's Electronic Times reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources. Samsung is counting on the S8 to rejuvenate sales after it scrapped the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones last year in one of the biggest product safety failures in tech history. The firm has yet to disclose what caused some Note 7 phones to catch fire on their own. The newspaper said the world's top smartphone maker would start production in March and planned to start selling them in April. Galaxy S7 phones went on sale in March last year. A Samsung spokesman said the company did not comment on speculation. –Reuters