ZTE is eyeing to sponsor more NBA teams to boost its presence in the United States. (Photo : Reuters)
One of China’s leading smartphone maker ZTE is planning to sponsor more teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as part of its target to be the no. 3 smartphone vendor in the U.S. in three years.
Currently, the Shenzhen-based firm sponsors three NBA teams. The company has also tripled its marketing expenses in the U.S. last year as part of its effort to boost its presence in the world's second biggest market.
In 2014, ZTE's smartphone shipments have increased to over 50 percent. This year, it aims to jump 20 percent further.
Cheng Lixin, the company's CEO in the U.S., told Reuters in an interview that ZTE is seeing "good return on investment," hence the plan to expanding its sponsorship to more NBA teams.
The whopping increase in the ZTE smartphone shipment figure was realized albeit the U.S. lawmakers' concern over Chinese telecommunications security issues.
According to the research firm Strategy Analytics, the company had a 6-percent share of the U.S. market for this year's first quarter, coming at a distant fourth place from the top smartphone vendors, namely Apple, Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, and LG Electronics, Inc.
ZTE has been eyeing to boost its presence overseas despite experiencing sales growth slowdown in China and tough competition with its rising domestic rival, Xiaomi, Inc.
The company has seen an 8-percent operating revenue growth last year, primarily from its network equipment division responsible in building telecom networks for companies and governments.
ZTE ranks third internationally in patent applications under the 2014 Patent Cooperation treaty, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization. Over 12,000 handset-related patents were granted to the firm, who currently holds 13 percent of the global 4G-specific patents.
