"The time's ripe for us to promote our brand there," he said.
This year, DBTEL aims to win 15 percent of China's handset market, even as domestic players pose fierce competition.
By its own estimate, DBTEL is the fifth-largest mobile phone producer in China. The company has an ambitious goal to grab the top spot with a near 30 percent share by the end of next year.
Founded in 1979 as a cordless telephone maker, DBTEL later made handsets for Motorola. In mid-2001, it left the contract manufacturing turf to develop its own phones. DBTEL is now a US$170 million brand, but that is still tiny compared to Nokia's sales last year of about US$30 billion.
DBTEL has also started tapping the European market this year, Mou said. The company plans to sell small and affordable cellphones in that crowded market.
Luxury handsets pave the way for brand recognition, but Mou does not expect instant success.
"It's like building a 100-floor skyscraper, we just want to have a solid foundation first," he said.
RSS