Chinese smartphone company Honor has released a device that folds to be almost as thin as an iPhone.
Null Photo | Null Photo | Getty Images
BEIJING – Chinese smartphone company Honor on Thursday announced support from new investors as the Huawei spinoff prepares for an initial public offering.
The new backers include China Telecom, one of China’s major telecommunications operators, CICC Capital, Chinese venture capital firm Cornerstone, and SDG, a fund associated with the Shenzhen Economic Zone. Honor said its existing partners also made a new investment round through an entity called Jinshi Xingyao.
Honor said earlier this year that it planned to begin changing its ownership structure in the fourth quarter and then begin the IPO process “at an appropriate time.”
The company has not disclosed where it will be listed. Honor announced plans for an IPO in November 2023.
Honor spun off from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei in November 2020 after its parent company was hit with U.S. sanctions. Huawei said it does not own any shares in Honor or participate in its management decisions.
Honor last week revealed that the next version of its operating system will be able to use AI to mimic touchscreen actions, such as opening an app and ordering coffee delivery. The company on Wednesday released its new Magic7 series of phones with AI features in China.
Just under a third of Honor’s sales in the first half of this year came from outside China, according to Counterpoint.
—CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report.
