The Huawei P9. The Chinese company wants to position itself as the top global smartphone maker. (Photo : Twitter)
Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei wants to have a bigger presence in the global smartphone market and is willing to go head to head with companies like Apple and Samsung for it.
The company made the statement during the Converge technology conference in Hong Kong. According to Huawei consumer electronics division head Richard Yu, they are confident that they will be able to achieve the ambitious goal, CNET reported.
"We want to be the number one smartphone maker in the world," Yu remarked. "It's a long-distance race and we have the patience."
To date, Huawei holds an 8.3-percent share of the global smartphone market, compared to Samsung's 23 percent and Apple's 15 percent. It has posted a 50-percent revenue growth in 2015 amounting to $30 billion.
The company is reportedly putting a significant amount of effort to increase the brand's global presence. As part of its international marketing, Huawei got "Batman v Superman" star Henry Cavill and "Avengers" actress Scarlett Johansson to promote its new P9 handset. It is also signing up local celebrities for its campaigns in countries like Bangladesh and Mexico.
However, analysts said that the biggest challenge for Huawei's ambitions is succeeding in the United States, which is the second largest smartphone market in the world and which accounts for a sixth of the total global sales, China Daily reported.
According to Nicole Peng of research firm Canalys, the U.S. market would be harder to penetrate than other markets that they have entered. Huawei first attempted to penetrate the market several years back, but pulled out in 2012 over suspicions of security breaches.
