Hutchison Whampoa is close to announcing a handset partnership with South Korea's LG Electronics that may involve a US$1 billion order for third-generation (3G) mobile phones.
Both firms could sign a deal as soon as the second quarter, a Hutchison source said.
Under the pact, LG phones would be sold in Hutchison's leading 3G markets, including Hong Kong.
A tie-up with Korea's second-largest handset manufacturer would make LG Hutchison's third 3G handset vendor after NEC Corp of Japan and Motorola of the United States.
Both manufacturers have been criticised for producing bulky 3G handsets with a short battery life, hindering take-up of the advanced data services.
The LG phones are believed to have a longer battery life, but the two upcoming models - the U8100 and U8150 - have talk and standby times similar to NEC's 616 phone.
LG has been a growing force in 3G. Earlier this year, LG's handset division head Park Mun-hwa said the company hoped to become the world's third-largest handset supplier with more than 100 million in shipments by 2007. LG is also discussing 3G phone sales in Europe with Orange.