China’s most valuable start-up Xiaomi is financially self-sufficient and has no plans to raise funds, its global vice-president said on Monday. Xiaomi, the world’s fifth-largest smartphone vendor, also has no plans for an initial public offering, Hugo Barra told Reuters in an interview. Xiaomi missed its global shipment target by 12 percent, selling 70 million handsets in a year when local rivals such as Lenovo Group Ltd and top player Huawei Technologies Co Ltd countered at home with similar Internet-only sales. This year, Xiaomi will be setting up two new plants in India, says company co-founder and president Lin Bin. According to a report in the Economic Times, Xiaomi is taking an interest in the South Asian smartphone market. This is attributed to the fact that its own home market (China) seems to be in a lull. Lin Bin revealed that Xiaomi will manufacture smartphone peripherals and some components as well. Coming back to China, Bin said that the market will be “flat” and may even see a decline this year. Xiaomi has plans to set up the two new facilities in the current year itself. And a spokesperson revealed that Xiaomi has applied for a licence. Once set up, Xiaomi will enjoy a few perks with eased foreign direct investment rules for single-brand retailing, similar to Apple. With inputs from Reuters
China’s most valuable start-up Xiaomi is financially self-sufficient and has no plans to raise funds, its global vice-president said on Monday. Xiaomi, the world’s fifth-largest smartphone vendor, also has no plans for an initial public offering, Hugo Barra told Reuters in an interview.
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