Chinese maker of mobile phones Xiaomi Corp. says that in the next few years it means to expand its retailing chain in Portugal to 22 shops, twice the number it has now, the Dinheiro Vivo website reports.

The Portuguese news website says Xiaomi opened last month two shops in central Portugal, one in Coimbra and the other in Leiria.

The report quotes a Xiaomi executive in Portugal, Tiago Flores, as saying his company is aiming to sell 5 million devices there in the next three years.

Mr Flores said Xiaomi also wanted closer ties with Portuguese retailers, and was aiming to do more business online.

Only Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd of South Korea sold more smartphones in Portugal than  Xiaomi in the first quarter of this year, the report says.

The Dinheiro Vivo website says Xiaomi first-quarter sales were 268 per cent greater than a year earlier, without giving the value or volume of those sales.