Samsung shares rose 1.6 per cent in morning trade. Its shares have climbed about 11 per cent since early November in anticipation of memory chip prices dipping less than expected during the first half of this year then rebounding, boosted by new data centres and demand for videos, games, conferencing and other traffic-heavy services. Samsung's logic chip business, which includes chip contract manufacturing that competes with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), is also expected to post a jump in operating profit to above one trillion won in the December quarter due to more deliveries and higher prices, Hanwha Investment and Securities analyst Lee Soon-hak said. Estimated smartphone shipments by Samsung's mobile business were about 67 million, near 69.3 million in the previous quarter, Counterpoint Research said, helped by easing component shortages, although marketing costs weighed.