XIAOMI, China’s largest smartphone company, will begin selling headphones, smart wristbands and other accessories online in the United States in coming months, taking its first tentative step onto Apple Inc.’s home turf without its signature Mi mobile devices.

    The company also said it is close to securing a manufacturing partner in Brazil, which will help it skirt punishing tariffs on imported electronics when it begins sales in Latin America’s largest economy in the first half of this year.

    Xiaomi, a five-year-old upstart whose name means “Little Rice,” came out of nowhere to become China’s fastest-selling mobile brand. It has been rapidly expanding its global footprint through direct, online sales.

    The company was valued at US$45 billion in a December funding round that drew investors ranging from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund to a private capital firm backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder Jack Ma.

    Its Mi devices, which scored with Chinese users because of their low cost and the company’s heavy reliance on user interaction and feedback, are now sold online across Asia, including most recently India.

    (SD-Agencies)