China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd is in early-stage talks to sell its premium smartphone brands P and Mate, which a move that could push the company eventually to exit from the high-end smartphone-making business, according to Indian Express report, on Monday.
Meanwhile, the move would follow escalating pressure from the US, which over the past few years has prevented Huawei phones from being widely sold in the country. Sanctions imposed by the US also mean that since late 2019 the firm phones no longer ship with Google services, including the Google Play app store.
Moreover, the potential sale of Huawei’s premium smartphone lines suggests the company has little hope that the new US president Joe Biden administration, will have a change of heart towards the supply chain restrictions placed on the firm since May 2019, according to news reportes.
However, the company has continued to thrive outside of the US. the firm brands was briefly the No. 1 phone maker last year, before losing market share to Samsung and slipping back into second place by the end of the third quarter, according to IDC.
In contrast, ''the firm has learned there are unsubstantiated rumours circulating regarding the possible sale of our flagship smartphone brands,” a Huawei spokesman said.'' There is no merit to these rumours whatsoever. Huawei has no such plan.”
On other hand, the Shanghai government said it was not aware of the situation and declined to comment further.