Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei has increased its forecast for full-year smartphone shipments, predicting that over 200m devices will be sold by the end of the financial year. The firm also claims it could become the worlds top smartphone vendor by the final quarter of next year if growth continues.

The company recently overtook Apple to claim the second-place spot for the most recent quarter of shipments, and expects full-year shipments to beat its initial target of 180m after it shipped over 95m smartphones in H1 2018.

“I think its no problem that we become the global number two next year,” said Richard Yu, CEO of Huaweis consumer business group. “In Q4 next year, its possible we become number one.”

Yu attributed the growth to strong sales in Europe and China, and the launch of premium lines such as the p20 series, which has sold more than 9m units in its first four months of sales.

While Huaweis consumer-facing business may be increasing, the company has faced problems in its business and infrastructure units as governments including the US, UK and Australia have raised security concerns. A recent UK report into Huaweis work on broadband and cellular infrastructure said it had “only limited assurance” that the firms products didnt represent a threat to national security. In addition, Huawei remains almost entirely shut out of the US market, with no major carriers there selling the companys smartphones.

However, strong growth in other markets has overcome these barriers to success, with the firm reporting 73 per cent revenue growth in EMEA for H1, and a 37 per cent increase in China. An increasing share of the premium market is partially responsible for this, with the firms global share of smartphones costing more than $500 (£384) growing from 12.8 per cent to 16.4 per cent year-on-year.

Huawei is planning to support this growth by opening 10,000 retail stores around the world before the end of the year, as well as beginning internal testing for 5G handsets in the fourth quarter of this year, ready for launch some time in 2019.