Chinese smartphone maker Honor announces new investors

By David Kirton

SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) – Chinese smartphone maker Honor announced on Thursday new investors that included China Telecom (NYSE:CHA) and a unit of CICC Capital Corp, almost a year after it said it was planning an initial public offering (IPO).

Honor, a former unit of Huawei Technologies, did not disclose the amount of the investment.

Other backers include China’s Cornerstone, the Shenzhen city government’s SDG Group, and Jinshi Xingyao, an investment platform for Honor’s channel partners, Honor said.

The smartphone maker said last November it was pursuing an IPO, without disclosing a location or a timeframe for the listing.

Honor was mainland China’s third best-selling smartphone maker in the third quarter with 10.3 million shipments and a 15% market share, behind Vivo and Huawei, according to data from research firm Canalys.

Honor obtained an undisclosed amount of investment from China Mobile (NYSE:CHL) in August.

That same month, Reuters reported that the company had received an unusually high level of support from the government in its hometown Shenzhen, including funding for research and development as well as tax breaks.