DUBAI: Huawei aims to beat rivals Apple and Samsung by expanding its global presence through more developed markets where consumers have better spending power.

“We’re more focused on developed countries, instead of developing countries,” Richard Yu, chief executive of Huawei’s consumer business group, said in an interview with CNBC. “That’s because they’re more likely to have a better economy and stronger consumer spending power.”

Huawei is now the world’s third-largest smartphone maker, accounting for nearly one-tenth of the market. Sales for the first half of the year increased 36.2 percent to $15.6 billion (SR58.5 billion) as smartphone shipments rose by 20.6 percent to 73 million units.

The company is expected ship up to 150 million phones by the end of this year, about 8 percent higher than the 139 million units it sold last year.

“Everybody knows that profit is on high tier, low tier no profit, and the middle tier very few margin ... to be honest, we have no interest in the low end,” Yu said. “Huawei is a company good at technology, innovation ... we believe we can bring more value to the high-end users” who care about better design and user experience.

Analysts said Huawei was doing poorly in key markets like Indonesia and India, and the US market remains elusive.

“The US is a must-have,” said Mo Jia, an analyst at research firm Canalys. “Only by [obtaining] a sound presence in the US, Huawei could have the chance to claim its crown in the global smartphone market.”

And to boost its fighting chance of toppling Apple and Samsung, the analysts said that Huawei must keep on focusing on higher-end customers in markets like Europe and Japan, where it has done well.

“Rome was not built in a day; everything you have to do it step by step … and the US will be our next step,” Huawei’s Yu said.