Techfaith Wireless Communication Technology, a mobile-phone design house founded by a group of former Motorola engineers, is on track for a Nasdaq listing in April to raise capital for its third-generation mobile-phone business.
The Beijing-based company, backed by Qualcomm Ventures and Intel Capital, is aiming to raise about US$175 million by selling 20 per cent to 25 per cent of the company to fund its expansion plans, according to market sources.
The deal will value Techfaith, the largest independent mobile-phone design house in the mainland, at about US$700 million to US$875 million.
Market sources said other players such as Yuhua TelTech (Shanghai) and Shanghai Longcheer Telecommunication were also considering overseas listing plans.
The independent mobile design industry has been growing rapidly over the past two years in China due to leading phone makers outsourcing to the mainland instead of South Korea.
'The big transition is from Korean design houses to Chinese design houses,' said Ann Liang, Gartner Asia Pacific wireless and mobile principal analyst.
'Numerous Korean design houses have been gradually phased out because of heavy debt since 2001. The dynamic is also associated to the booming of Chinese handset vendors.'