Samsung has been dealt a major blow in China. It's being reported that Samsung Electronics saw its market share in the Chinese smartphone market collapse by dropping below 1 percent in the fourth quarter last year.

Data compiled by market research firm Strategy Analytics showed that Samsung was ranked 12th with its market share in the period standing at 0.8 percent, lower than the previous market estimates of 1.7 percent. Chinese smartphone makers -- including Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi -- took most of the top spots while Apple was the only foreign company that was in the top 5.

Samsung, which seems to be baffled by the latest data, raised doubts over the timing of the report's release.

A Samsung spokesperson reacting to the statistics stated that "I do not understand why the report, dealing with figures months ago, is now being released to the media." Yet the publication noted that "The Company utilizes the research firm's data in its sales and marketing operations."

After venturing into the Chinese mobile phone segment in 1992, Samsung became a leading handset maker there. It topped the Chinese market from 2011 to 2013, but has started losing ground to Chinese rivals since then.

The report lastly noted that "Samsung hopes to turn things around with its latest Galaxy S9, which went on sale in China from March 6." Yet with the local Korean market yawning at the debut of S9, it's highly unlikely to change things for Samsung in China.

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