Smartphone producer Meizu Tech selected as 'unicorn'

Chinese smartphone maker Meizu Technology Co Ltd on Dec 21 became Zhuhai's only company to be listed on the Hurun Greater China Unicorn Index 2017.

In western mythology the unicorn symbolizes purity and grace, but in this context it defines a startup company valued at $1 billion or more.

China's 120 best unicorns, including those from the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan are listed by the Hurun Research Institute in this year's China unicorn index with a combined valuation of 3 trillion yuan ($445 billion).

Entries were selected from companies with external financing that also have a valuation of more than $1 billion. The ranking is based on financial statistics collected as of Nov 30. Meizu is listed 16th.

Founded in 2003 and located in the Zhuhai National Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone, Tangjiawan, Meizu Technology is a leading consumer electronics firm. The company focus shifted to design and production of smartphones in 2008 and now is noted for the simple, intuitive mobile experience their products provide. It is estimated that Meizu's value exceeds 30 billion yuan ($4.5 billion).

Meizu headquarters in Tangjiawan [Photo/cityofzhuhai.com]

Sharing 16th place with Meizu are one of China's largest online video platforms IQiyi.com, emerging e-car maker WM Motor, medical imaging device producer Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare, Chinese electric vehicle start-up Nio, and robotics manufacturer Ubtech Robotics Corp.

Ant Financial, a forerunner in internet finance backed by Alibaba Group, tops the list with a valuation of more than 400 billion yuan ($60 billion). The second spot is taken by ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing. Taking third are China's leading group-buying and dining information platform Meituan Dianping and smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi Corp.

Meizu attracted capital of 2 billion yuan ($304 million) in the first round of fund-raising in July 2014 with a corporate valuation of more than 20 billion yuan ($3 billion).

In February 2015, the company received $650 million from Alibaba Group and Haitong Capital.

Meizu held a supplier meeting for the first time at the beginning of November and revealed that its output value reached 20.3 billion yuan ($3 billion) in 2016 and is estimated to exceed 100 billion yuan ($15.2 billion) in the next six years.

As of December 2016, the company has operated more than 2,300 franchised stores, 17,000 exclusive shops and 60,000 exclusive outlets throughout the world. Benefitting from an increasingly potent internet ecosphere, Meizu has had more than 54 million registered users using their Flyme mobile phone operating system and over 25 billion downloads in their application store.