Samsung Electronics is in talks with several smartphone makers including China's ZTE to supply mobile processor chips, a senior executive said.

"We are talking to all OEMs," Inyup Kang, head of Samsung's logic chip developer called System LSI, told Reuters in an interview, referring to original equipment manufacturers.

Kang said he expects to announce a new client for its Exynos chipsets in the first half of 2019.

Samsung generates the bulk of its profit from its memory chips and has been beefing up development of logic chips such as mobile processors, image sensors and automotive chips to diversify. Its flagship Exynos mobile chips power Samsung's Galaxy line of smartphones, but the chipset has only one external smartphone client - China's Meizu Technology.

For its part, ZTE is seeking for new chip suppliers, following the company's withrdrawal from the U.S. market and the loss of access to suppliers such as Qualcomm.

As the smartphone market slows, Samsung's logic chip division also plans to seek growth in new fields such as fifth-generation mobile network technology (5G) and automotive.

Samsung in January that it is providing automaker Audi with Exynos processor chips.