KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 26): Huawei Technologies (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, which is planning no less than a RM15 million investment in Malaysia in the next three years, is aiming to double its smartphone sales here by end-2016.

Currently, Huawei has sold 100,000 units of smartphones for the year-to-date period, giving it market share of 15%, according to its South Pacific region chief marketing officer Lim Chee Siong.

Year to date, he said the group has also surpassed Samsung Malaysia Electronics (SME) Sdn Bhd in the domestic premium smartphone market, though marginally.

"We hope we can sustain the momentum and [continue to stay ahead of] Samsung by year end," he added.

He said Huawei is estimated to sell 10 million P9 worldwide, with global total sales of 140 million units.

Meanwhile, Huawei will be spending at least RM15 million to upgrade its Internet of Things showcase centre, what it calls its 'Customer Solution Integration and Innovation Experience Centre', by 2019.

Lim said the investment will include the establishment of a big data centre as well as other hardware facilities.

"The investment is for the overall hub [upgrade], including the back-end system," he told pressmen after the opening of the centre today.

"Further investment will depend on the programme we are implementing in the industry at the time," he added.

Separately, in terms of financial contribution to the whole group, Lim is targeting no less than a 20% contribution this year.

"The growth will come from the devices as well as our telecommunication operation," he added. In the first half of the year, Huawei's telecommunication operation in Malaysia registered a 15% to 20% growth, he added.

At the group level, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd is eyeing a 40% growth in revenue this year, he shared. "We projected our revenue to grow to US$80 billion (about RM332 billion) from US$60 billion last year," he said, adding that telecommunication operations and devices would remain as the main drivers.

He said the prospect for the ICT sector in Malaysia remains promising given the continued emphasis from the government on the sector.