Xiaomi and Hutch make their own buddy movie

Xiaomi is a smartphone company that doesn’t play by the rules, Hutch is a telecoms giant that takes no prisoners. Together they’re dynamite.

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi and Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison have announced a global strategic alliance that will see Xiaomi gear being flogged through Hutch channels all over the world. Essentially this means Xiaomi stuff will be available through Three dealers and stores as well as its own website, and Three will have unique access to the world’s fourth largest smartphone maker. They’re both excited.

“We are thrilled to ink this win-win partnership with CK Hutchison, which is a global leader in the retail and telecom industries,” said Xiaomi SVP Wang Xiang. “As we deepen our international footprint, we are excited to partner with CK Hutchison, which will enable us to deliver on our vision to bring innovation to everyone across the world. I believe our wide range of high-quality, well-designed products at accessible and honest pricing will be warmly welcomed by CK Hutchison’s customers.”

“We are excited by this agreement with Xiaomi. With CK Hutchison’s global retail and telecom footprint, Xiaomi will have access to hundreds of millions of customers instantly,” said Canning Fok, CK Hutchison Group Co-MD. “Xiaomi has high quality, well-designed products at accessible prices. We expect them to be well received by both our telecom customers and our general retail customers. This is a win-win situation for both companies.”

It’s been a busy day for Xiaomi as it has also announced its IPO, which you can find not much about in this infuriatingly redacted stock exchange filing. Apparently Xiaomi is looking to raise $10 billion at a company value of $100 billion. If Xiaomi is already so big without retail channels and with a limited geographical footprint, this move should definitely concern Samsung, Apple and Huawei.

Here’s a photo of the main dudes signing bits of paper and smiling: Li Ka-shing, CK Hutchison Chairman (center back), Lei Jun, Xiaomi Founder, Chairman and CEO (left back) and Victor Li, CK Hutchison Group Co-MD and Deputy Chairman (right back), Wang Xiang, Xiaomi SVP (front left) and Canning Fok, CK Hutchison Group Co-MD (front right).