An executive of Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp. Ltd has said the Chinese maker of smartphones will try to enter the Portuguese market this year, the China Daily reports.

The Chinese state-run newspaper quotes Oppo Global Marketing President Wu Qiang as saying his company is also eager to penetrate the Mexican, German, Belgian and Romanian markets.

The report says Mr Wu believes the Covid-19 pandemic will reduce demand for smartphones by less than many expect.

Mr Wu said makers shipped between 340 million and 360 million smartphones last year, and he forecast that the global market will be about the same size this year.

A study by Counterpoint Research found that one effect of the pandemic has been to drive online sales of smartphones, the China Daily says.