Xiaomi aims to enter the US smartphone market by the end of 2018

Xiaomi has said through CEO Lei Jun that it plans to enter the US smartphone market in late 2018 or early 2019. The company already sells various products such as speakers in the US, but that does not yet apply to smartphones.

Lei Jun told The Wall Street Journal in Beijing that his company has always considered entering the US smartphone market. If it is up to him, that will actually happen at the end of 2018 or early 2019. He acknowledged, however, that this expansion to other foreign markets is not easy, as Xiaomi would have to learn and understand local laws, regulations and consumer needs. The CEO declined to comment further.

In order to enter the American market, Xiaomi will have to enter into an agreement with one of the American mobile providers. The Chinese manufacturer ZTE has been active in the smartphone market in the US for some time, but both this company and Huawei have recently faced quite a bit of headwind.

For example, it seems that American politicians in the US have put pressure on the providers to cancel deals with Huawei. For example, Verizon and AT&T would have refrained from selling Huawei smartphones. Huawei’s CEO has previously expressed his dissatisfaction with this. The politicians are concerned that Huawei has too close ties with the Chinese government and the phones could be used for espionage.

For this reason, several US intelligence agencies have recently discouraged Americans from purchasing Huawei or ZTE products or services. Earlier it appeared that the US government is working on a bill that should make it impossible to use telecom equipment from Huawei and ZTE within government institutions.

According to WSJ sources, Xiaomi plans to launch an equity offering for a listing in Hong Kong in the second part of this year. This should raise at least $10 billion. This IPO and the money raised with it may play a role in the plans to enter the American smartphone market.