Nubia to receive $297m cash investment from Suning

Nubia smartphones are on display during PT/EXPO CHINA 2015 in Beijing, China, September 22 2015. [Photo/IC]

Chinese smartphone maker Nubia Technology Ltd, a subsidiary of ZTE Corporation, announced on Thursday a proposal to enlarge its share capital and bring in Suning Rundong, backed by domestic retailer Suning Holdings Group Ltd.

According to the announcement, ZTE, Yingcai Investment, Nubia and Suning Rundong entered into the agreement in relation to the capital increase and strategic investment in Nubia Technology Ltd on December 30, 2015, pursuant to which Suning Rundong will subscribe for the capital increase of Nubia with investment of 1.93 billion yuan ($297 million) in cash.

Upon completion of the capital increase, ZTE, Yingcai Investment and Suning Rundong will hold 60 percent, 6.67 percent and 33.33 percent equity interests in Nubia, respectively.

"The investment will become a strategic source of fund for the future development of the compay and it will also raise the brand’s reputation and stimulate consumers' brand awareness," according to local media reports, citing from the directorate of Nubia.

The handset brand that has been used by Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan unveiled a series of upgraded smartphones in October to mark three-year anniversary of the company's establishment.

One of the devices, Nubia Z9 Mini Elite, has been upgraded with new biometric authentication-- eye pattern recognition, the same technology embedded on ZTE's latest flagship Axon. The tech debuted in March by ZTE at the Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona.

According to Xinhua News Agency, since the start of its birth in 2012, Nubia was conceived as an international brand. Its first product was designed by Italian Stefano Giovannoni and product launch events were held in both Russia and Sweden.

"Chinese smartphone makers face great challenges in overseas market as intellectual property rights are imposed," said Ni.

According to Ni, the intellectual property rights and patents are shared by both ZTE and Nubia, and the company's overseas marketing strategy will follow three steps.

European countries, such as Germany and France, will be the company's first target market since the previous parent company -- ZTE has achieved mature business to consumers (B2C) promotion and distribution channels in these countries. Overseas markets such as South East Asia, North America and Latin America will follow Europe.

ZTE Nubia Z9 handsets were launched in India in May, and the Nubia "MyPrague" series was unveiled in Prague, the Czech Republic, in July.

Currently, Nubia phones are available in the United States, Russia, India, the Czech Republic and Spain through cooperation with Amazon and domestic e-commerce gaint JD.com.