Chinese technology company Xiaomi has secured a $1 billion loan to fund its international expansion and strengthen its brick-and-mortar sales channels.
The latest three-year loan worth $1 billion to Xiaomi’s Hong Kong subsidiary was backed by a syndicate of 18 banks across various countries and regions, with Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley serving as joint global coordinators, according to a Sina news report.
Xiaomi’s founder and CEO Lei Jun said the fresh funding will help bolster the company’s international expansion and allow new retail business to integrate both online and offline sales channels, both of which are Xiaomi’s top strategic areas for 2017.
The last time Xiaomi raised loans was in 2014, when the company borrowed a three-year $1 billion syndicated loan.
Earlier this month, Lei said the company now targets shipments of more than 100 million smartphones for 2018. Handset shipments in the second quarter this year reached 23.16 million, up 70 percent over the previous quarter, which was also a record-high in terms of quarterly shipments.
Xiaomi’s smartphone sales for Q2 followed two years of „adjustments“ following severe output constraints, and indicate that production capacity is now gradually improving, Lei said.
Xiaomi, which started its business based on the internet and heavily relied on online sales, launched its brick-and-mortar „Mi Homes“ in May this year, allowing consumers to buy all Xiaomi products offline at shops.
Xiaomi has a total of 149 Mi Home stores in China and reportedly 137 worldwide. It plans to open 2,000 more in China and overseas markets as part of a three-year plan.
Lei said the company is eyeing 70 billion yuan from its offline sales channels in the next five years.
