Xiaomi expected to ship 100 million smartphones this year, up 43% from 2017

Led by the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S handset, which provides flagship specs at a value price, Xiaomi is hoping to ship 100 million smartphones this year, according to industry estimates. That would be a 43% hike over last year's delivery of 70 million units. In addition, the company might finally enter the U.S. market later this year or early next year. Xiaomi reportedly has met with U.S. carriers to discuss selling Xiaomi's flagship handsets in the U.S.

While this might not be the best time for a Chinese based manufacturer to push its wares in the U.S., Xiaomi thus far has escaped the negative issues that have tainted both Huawei and ZTE. Those two manufacturers have been accused of having close ties to the Chinese government and the U.S. government has claimed that the pair engaged in espionage on behalf of Beijing. Earlier this year, government officials warned U.S. consumers not to buy Huawei devices for fear that they could spy on American consumers and corporations.

Xiaomi plans on raising funds through a public offering in order to help it increase its smartphone output and expand overseas. Earlier this month, there was talk that the company would sell shares valued at $65-$70 billion through an IPO to be held as soon as next month. The stock would be listed on the NYSE.

Meanwhile, companies in Taiwan that are part of Xiaomi's supply chain are expecting new orders from the company due to its plans for global expansion. These firms include contract manufacturer Foxconn, Inventec, multi-lens module company Largan Precision, and TSMC. The latter produces the Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile platform found under the hood of Xiaomi's phones. TSMC is expected to make Qualcomm's 2019 flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 855 mobile platform. This is expected to be the first mobile chip produced using a 7nm FinFet process, although first dibs will reportedly go to the Samsung Galaxy S10.

In China, demand for smartphones is said to be rebounding only slightly after the industry suffered through its first down year ever in 2017. For Xiaomi to increase smartphone shipments by 43% this year, it will have to remain red hot in India, and push hard to expand sales outside of its domestic market.