BEIJING (CHINA) – Huawei Technologies Co Ltd of China is in discussions to sell its premium smartphone brands P and Mate, said two sources. This could see the firm leaving its high-end smartphone manufacturing business.
For months at a stretch, discussions have been going on between the telecoms giant and a consortium headed by Shanghai government-supported investment companies.
The telecoms manufacturing company began to explore the possibility of selling its two brands as early as September, said one source.
According to consultancy IDC, shipments of Mate and P Series phones were worth $39.7 billion between Q3 2019 and Q3 2020.
However, the firm has not taken a final decision on the sale and there are chances the talks may end in a fiasco as the company is still trying to make at home its in-house designed high-end Kirin chips which power its smartphones.
“Huawei has learned there are unsubstantiated rumours circulating regarding the possible sale of our flagship smartphone brands,” a company spokesperson said. “There is no merit to these rumours whatsoever. Huawei has no such plan.”
The fact that the firm is eying the sale of its premium smartphone lines suggests they believe the new Joe Biden administration in the US will never have a change of heart towards the curbs placed on the supply chain since May 2019.
