Huawei may be in talks to sell the P Series and Mate Phone Brands
The troubled Chinese tech giant Huawei has been at the center of so many tech discussions for some time now. Now, Reuters is speculating that the company is in talks to sell its P Series and Mate series smartphone brands. The speculation is not entirely unfounded as Reuters cited two people with direct knowledge of this information. The sources claimed that the company was in direct negotiations with an association of Shanghai investment firms backed by the Chinese government.
According to Reuters, the talks started in September 2020, shortly before the company’s announcement that it was selling off its budget smartphone brand, Honor. However, Huawei is yet to confirm whether or not the P series and Mate phone brands are to be sold.
A Huawei spokesperson did deny the reports in a statement. They said: "Huawei has learned there are unsubstantiated rumors circulating regarding the possible sale of our flagship smartphone brands. There is no merit to these rumors whatsoever. Huawei has no such plan. We remain fully committed to our smartphone business, and will continue to deliver world-leading products and experiences for consumers around the world."
The popularity of the P series and Mate series have exceeded other Huawei flagship models, not just in China, but around the world, so selling these brands may remove Huawei from the high-end phone market completely.
The move comes after the escalating pressure and trade restrictions placed on the company by the United States government which has prevented the sale of Huawei smartphones in the United States. The sanctions also prevented Huawei smartphones from being shipped with Google services including the Google Play App Store, Maps, and other traditional Google Apps.
Huawei has continued to thrive outside the United States despite the sanctions, the company briefly secured the top position in the global phone market in 2020 before losing the position to Samsung. Huawei still held on to the second position by the end of the third quarter of 2020 according to data from IDC.
The restrictions from the US also prevent the company from buying American-made components for their smartphones, forcing the company to discontinue the manufacture of its own brand, Kirin Chipsets. As a result, Huawei is expected to run out of its Kirin Chips reserves in 2021.
A significant majority of the sanctions imposed on the tech giant were spearheaded by Donald Trump’s administration who viewed the company as a security threat because of its relationship with the Chinese government. Although Huawei has consistently denied any links to the Chinese government, the Donald Trump administration was adamant about the sanctions. With the election of a new president, it is still unclear whether or not the United States government will change its mind.
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