Xiaomi’s smartphone shipments double ahead of IPO as ZTE’s slump by half

It is the best of times and worst of times for two Chinese smartphone brands.

Xiaomi, gearing up for a US$10 billion listing, doubled its global smartphone shipments in the latest quarter, while local rival ZTE Corp saw a nearly 50 per cent slump – and that was before it was slapped with a seven year ban on buying American tech products.

In the first quarter of this year Xiaomi’s smartphone shipments jumped 101 per cent year on year to 27 million, according to research agency Counterpoint. The boost in sales, which also helped Xiaomi expand its market share to 7.5 per cent from 3.6 per cent, elevated its global ranking to No 4 in the first quarter from No 7 a year earlier, according to the report.

ZTE, on the other hand, saw its first quarter global shipments slide 46 per cent year on year to 7.2 million from 13.3 million. ZTE’s global ranking dropped one place to No 9 while its market share shrank to 2 per cent from 3.6 per cent in the same period last year.

The companies are arguably the two most newsworthy smartphone brands in China today – but for very different reasons.

Xiaomi is widely expected to file its application for a Hong Kong IPO this week, with the US$100 billion valuation ranking it as the biggest in tech since Alibaba Group’s US$25 billion share sale in May 2014. In stark contrast Shenzhen-based ZTE, China’s largest listed telecom equipment supplier, is struggling to get its business back on track after the US government sanctioned it for lying to investigators over disciplinary action taken against employees responsible for selling embargoed US technology to Iran.