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ZTE is being aggressive in its moves to enter the mainstream smartphone market, and its latest move is to support Windows Mobile. The Chinese supplier will initially ship these devices to Vodafone, in various territories, early next year. Xiong Hui, VP of the handset business, said in an interview: "ZTE initially focused on providing cheaper mid and low tier mobile phones in the domestic and overseas markets. We are now providing more than 10 models of mobile telephones for the high end market." ZTE is in sixth place in the league of global cellphone sales, and aims to ship 50m units this year and 100m by 2013, which could make it the third largest vendor, depending what befalls the current major players. "The key factor to reach the 100m shipment is customization with mobile operators," said He Shiyou, a ZTE executive VP.

Meanwhile, fellow Chinese vendor Huawei has been seeking financial partners to boost its own cellphone prospects outside its home country. Private equity firms Bain Capital Partners and Silver Lake Partners have formally submitted bids for a 50% stake in the company's handset business unit, according to sources. Other private equity firms, notably AEA Investors, Goldman Sachs' PE arm, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Blackstone and TPG, previously expressed interest, but apparently none of these firms made it past the first round of bidding.

Huawei expects to raise about $2bn for the 50% stake in the unit, which includes handsets, mobile data cards and routers. This is significantly lower than earlier reported valuations. Even so, such a deal would be one of the largest ever foreign investments in a Chinese firm, with the main objective being to increase Huawei's presence in the North American market. The vendor hopes to double its handset volumes this year.

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