Xiaomi will be in San Francisco next week for the first U.S. announcement the Chinese smartphone manufacturer has made, and even though it claims it won’t be selling any phones or tablets in America in the near future, there may well be some huge news to share.

Xiaomi about to IPO?

The news and rumours site iFeng reports (via WatchChinaTimes) that the up and coming device manufacturer is seriously considering going public, and that it will possibly be on a U.S. stock exchange.

Xiaomi has hit the headlines over the past year mainly due to the amount of smartphones that it’s selling in China. The company is already giving Samsung a run for its money in the budget smartphone market, and is often called the Apple of China, although the company recently came under fire from Apple’s Jony Ive who said that copying the look and feel of Apple’s devices is tantamount to theft. We expect that Ive will not be attended the event in San Francisco.

When Chief Executive Office Lei Jun founded the company a few years ago, he had reportedly said it would take at least five years before going public was on the cards. But now, various sources claim that Xiaomi could in fact be ready to do so, although it’s apparently still considering the available options between exchanges in the United States and Hong Kong. Even if the company has not yet made its final decision, the upcoming event is certainly a good way to test the public’s reaction in San Francisco.

We will be monitoring the imminent event closely, and even if there isn’t an IPO announcement to be guaranteed, it cannot be ruled out either. Either way, there is bound to be some important news coming out of next week’s big event.

Larry Banks is a keen follower of technology and finance. He has worked for a variety of online publications, writing about a diverse range of topics including mobile networks, patents, and Internet video delivery technologies.