ZTE Corp's mobile phone sales will surge 60 percent year-on-year
in 2008 and the world's sixth biggest handset maker aims to
"significantly lift the portion" of sales with its own brands, the
Shenzhen-based firm told Shanghai Daily today.
In 2007, the Shenzhen-listed firm sold 31.06 million phones
globally and it expects to sell more than 50 million units this
year, according to Gu Yongchen, general director of ZTE's corporate
branding and communications department.
"We can achieve the target through deep cooperation with
carriers and improved handset designs," Gu said at ZTE's booth
during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the largest
annual telecommunications industry gathering.
ZTE started handset business as a contract manufacturer and
provided phones for the world's top carriers such as Vodafone and
China Mobile.
ZTE aims to establish its brands in the middle and even high-end
market from the entry-level segment now, industry insiders
said.
Gu and his coworkers displayed the video communications
functions of a ZTE-made 3G model, which is designed for 3 Italia, a
3G subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa. The model is also adopting
design from Momodesign, an Italian design center.
"We will go to Italy (after the Barcelona show) to talk with our
partners to add the ZTE logo on the model," Gu said.
In 2007, about 46 percent of ZTE's sold phones were with its
brand (including co-brand) and the figure will surge in 2008, Gu
told Shanghai Daily.
"With strong telecom background, ZTE is able to get more market
shares through carriers' group purchase. The overseas growth and
reputation will also lift the company's domestic sales in future
(when 3G is available)," said Sandy Shen, an analyst at Gartner
Inc, a US-base IT research firm.
Meanwhile, ZTE's GSM equipment sales jumped 315 percent
year-on-year in 2007 and the CDMA equipment sales doubled last
year, according to Xu Ming, vice president of wireless products
management division.
The sales will continue to grow as the increasing demand among
carriers with cross-broad business in emerging markets, like
Vodafone and even China Mobile, which has acquired a carrier in
Pakistan, Xu said.
(Shanghai Daily February 13,
2008)
