国际英语新闻:Xiaomi's market value hits 45 bln USD: founder

BEIJING, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- The market value of Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi Inc. is estimated at 45 billion U.S. dollars after the company completed its latest round of fundraising last week, company founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Lei Jun said on Monday.

Last week was the fifth round of financing by the company and raised 1.1 billion U.S. dollars, Lei said in an entry posted on Sina Weibo, a popular microblog in China.

Investors in the company's latest round of financing included All-stars, DST, GIC, Hopu Investment and Yunfeng Capital. The results have demonstrated investors' recognition of Xiaomi's achievements after more than four years of ventures and will open a new chapter for the company's development, Lei said.

The CEO also said Xiaomi will unveil a new heavyweight flagship product in January, without disclosing more details. Media has reported the company is likely to launch Xiaomi 5, a new generation smartphone.

Global market researcher International Data Corporation (IDC) said in its latest report that Xiaomi jumped onto the list of top 5 manufacturers for the first time at the number 3 position thanks to its focus on China and adjacent markets, which resulted in year-on-year growth hitting triple digits.

In the third quarter of this year, Xiaomi's global market share stood at 5.3 percent, following Samsung's 23.8 percent and Apple's 12 percent, according to IDC.

Data showed Xiaomi shipped 18 million smartphones in the third quarter, an increase of 18 percent from the previous quarter. For the first nine months, the company shipped a total of 44 million units.

Xiaomi, a name that means "millet" in Chinese, was founded in April 2010 by Lei and his friends in Zhongguancun, Beijing's technology hub, which has been called "China's Silicon Valley." Xiaomi's first smartphone debuted on Aug. 16, 2011.