LG will be the third biggest smartphone maker in the world by the end of 2012. Hey, it’s not me who is saying that, but LG’s biggest competitor in the business, a company going by the name of Samsung. We’ve all heard about them, right?

Samsung Securities, the brokerage arm of Samsung, is the one making the bold prediction here. According to their report, LG will be able to turn their fortunes around in the first quarter of the next year, mainly due to the Optimus G – which they say will beat all expectations in South Korea and will also sell well in other markets thanks to “features and design that surpass precursors and rival models” – and two unknown upcoming devices codenamed V2 and GK.

The report also says that LG’s smartphone division will stop losing money in the first quarter of 2013 (that should be joyous news for LG), and that the company will start making better products than its rivals and also beat them when it comes to the cost of devices. They will also expand their global distribution, which is already backed by a superior supply chain compared to the likes of HTC. The distribution and supply chain are two areas where Samsung currently pawns other manufacturers like HTC, and LG already enjoys a massive global reach with its other products, so it shouldn’t be a problem doing the same for their smartphones.

Samsung Securities goes as far as choosing LG’s shares as the top pick for 2013 and gives it a strong “Buy” recommendation. LG hasn’t been too lucky in the Android game thanks to poor after-sales customer support as well as failing to make phones that wow customers (compared to Samsung or HTC), but if all goes well with the Optimus G as well as the Nexus they are supposedly making based on the Optimus G, next year may see another Korean manufacturer rise to the top.

Anyone rooting for LG?