Chinese phone maker targets youth

CEBU, Philippines – Chinese phone manufacturer Huawei targets the young Filipino market for its new line of affordable smartphones.

"We are targeting primarily the first smartphone users, the likes of young people from 14-years-old to 22-years-old," said Corine Bacani, Huawei Technologies Philippines senior marketing manager in an interview.

Although the brand has high-end phone models, priced to as high as P21,000, its latest product line of smartphones  as low as P2,890 to catch the attention of young mobile phone users.

The social network influenced generation, she said should be provided with products that are easy on the pocket but have competitive, sleek, and updated features.

"We want to give the young market good experience in their first smartphone usage, " said Bacani.

Huawei Technology Philippines chief executive officer Gavin Dai earlier expressed optimism of the country's profitable technology market, saying it aims to grow by five-fold in the next few years.

Dai said the company is looking at gradually increasing its market share in the Philippines to about  to 10 percent, from less two percent it settled in 2013.

According to Dai, there is a lot to be done in the Philippines where it is ranked 10th or 11th despite the fact that it is among the top three smartphone vendors in the world based on the 3rd Quarter 2013 IDC market research report.

Huawei has also partnered with Smart Communications Inc. of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Ayala-led Globe Telecom Inc. to carry its products.