Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world's second-largest network equipment maker, expects its mobile phone sales to hit 14 billion yuan ($2.19 billion) this year with a total shipment of 22 million units in China, said a company official on Sept 27.
Huawei expects to have 8 to 9 percent of China's mobile phone market this year, said Steven Yang, China president of Huawei Device Co Ltd, a unit that sells mobile phones, tablets and wireless cards.
Of the total shipments, about 12 million units will be smartphones, Yang added, boosted by rising demand in China.
Huawei generated a majority of its revenues, which totaled 185.2 billion yuan, from network equipment sales last year. However, it has been devoting more effort to consumer devices and solutions for corporate customers, trying to cash in on smartphone demand and enterprise IT spending.
Huawei and its Chinese rival ZTE Corp both see their smartphone business increasing. The two companies last year launched smartphones priced at about 1,000 yuan to provide affordable access to the devices.
ZTE sold more than 5 million smartphones in the first half in China, an increase of more than 400 percent over the same period last year, according to the company.
Gao Yuan, an analyst with research company IDC, said that fully developed sales channels and phones offered at affordable prices with in-demand features have driven the development of domestic mobile phone makers, such as ZTE, Huawei, and Lenovo Group Ltd, whose growth rates surpassed the overall market's 5.9 percent in the second quarter.
Huawei will further develop its self-owned channels, including building seven flagship stores by the end of this year and nationwide retail stores to boost sales, Yang said.
These steps are in line with the company's efforts to raise its profile among consumers. Huawei has been relying mostly on distribution channels of mobile carriers.
Nokia Oyj has the largest share of China's mobile phone market, with 32.8 percent, amid increasingly fierce competition from rivals, followed by Samsung Electronic Co Ltd's 23.7 percent share and Huawei's 6.1 percent last year, according to domestic research company Analysys International.
ZTE, also one of the largest network equipment makers in the world, has forecast its mobile phone shipments will reach 35 million units worldwide this year, with China accounting for 35 percent, said He Shiyou, senior vice-president of ZTE.