Huawei Technologies Co, a Chinese IT and telecommunications firm, has set aside its largest-ever budget of US$10 million for next year to bolster its growing smartphone business in Thailand and double its local market share.
The smartphone giant will also spend $100 million this year and next to build brand awareness in Southeast Asia.
The spending boost is a response to intensifying competitive pressure from other Chinese handset firms, particularly arch rival Xiaomi Inc, which is in talks with Thai mobile operator Advanced Info Service on a bundling campaign.
Global research firm IDC Corporation recently said Xiaomi became the world's third-biggest smartphone maker in the third quarter, with a 5.3% global market share.
Huawei, meanwhile, slipped from the top five after ranking No.3 with a 6.9% share in the second quarter.
It sold 32 million smart devices globally in the third quarter including 16.8 million smartphones, for an increase of 26% year-on-year.
"Thailand is our largest and most important market in Southeast Asia in terms of market size thanks to the fast adoption rate of 3G smartphones," said Yang Shu, president and chief executive of Huawei Southeast Asia.
"The country's smartphone market will continue enjoying solid growth in 2015, as demand for 4G smartphones here is expected to rise."
Thomas Liu, managing director of Huawei Device Southeast Asia, said Huawei's Southeast Asian smartphone sales had quadrupled this year.
Globally, Huawei expects its smartphone sales will reach 80 million devices this year.
Mr Liu admitted Huawei could not achieve its ambitious market share target of 5% in the local smartphone segment this year due to fierce competition and price pressure from other Chinese firms.
"We expect to have a 3% market share here for our first year of business, selling 300,000 units this year," he said.
To achieve that goal, Huawei is introducing a premium smartphone, the Ascend Mate 7, using Thailand as a regional launch pad for Southeast Asia.
The 4G-enabled smartphone retails for 16,900 baht and features a six-inch display, octacore processor and fingerprint security system.
Huawei's new phone is designed to compete with Samsung's Galaxy Note 4 and Apple's iPhone 6 Plus.
Mr Liu said Huawei expected to double its handset sales in Thailand to 600,000 devices next year, helped by aggressive marketing and a wider range of products.