Lei Jun, chairman and chief executive officer of Xiaomi, reportedly recently visited Taiwan and announced his company plans to launch Xiaomi smartphones in Taiwan at the end of 2012.
According to reports in Taiwanese local media, the Chinese mainland smartphone maker aims to become a top smartphone brand in the Taiwanese market, challenging leading smartphone makers like HTC and Samsung.
During his travels in Taiwan, Lei visited several Taiwanese telecom companies, preparing for entry into this new marketplace. Lei said the Taiwanese local smartphone company HTC has a much larger operating scale than Xiaomi and it is a good example to learn from. However, HTC depends to much on the American market. Meanwhile, the Chinese mainland market has become the largest mobile phone market in the world, providing competitive advantages to Xiaomi. If Xiaomi gains good performance in the Chinese mainland, it will have less pressure when exploring the international market.
Lei also said that Taiwan's demand for mobile phones is over seven million units each year, which is more than he imagined. However, there are limited brand options and Xiaomi is expected to immediately become a top ten brand when it enters this marketplace.
Statistics from Xiaomi showed that by June 12, 2012, the company's smartphone shipments had risen over three million units. Lei said they will ship five million by the end of the year. In addition, Xiaomi's second-generation product is expected to be launched before year-end.