South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. is the most popular smartphone brand in a handful of emerging markets, a survey showed Monday, outdoing rivals at home and abroad such as Apple Inc. of the United States and local competitor LG Electronics Inc.

In the poll conducted by Credit Suisse Research Institute on 15,873 users from nine emerging countries -- Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey -- around 30 percent responded that given the choice, they would buy a Samsung smartphone.

Saudi Arabia held the highest preference for Samsung-made products at 57 percent, trailed by Turkey, Brazil and China at 46 percent, 42 percent and 38 percent, respectively. India and Russia held comparable figures of 31 percent and 27 percent, while that of Mexico came to 22 percent.

The world's No. 1 smartphone maker, however, posted weak results in South Africa and Indonesia, as such markets are currently dominated by Finnish Nokia Corp. and Canada-based Blackberry Ltd.

Samsung's brand penetration improved in 2013 from a year earlier in the observed markets, the poll said. Brand penetration refers to the portion of people who purchased goods made by a specific brand at least once over a given period.

While Samsung's handset brand penetration improved in most of the surveyed nations, figures also went up for its TV models in five emerging countries. Its computers also earned higher market recognition in China, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey.

LG Electronics Inc. improved its market presence in Mexico, Russia and Turkey for smartphones, while its computers also tapped deeper into Brazil, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. (Yonhap)