Chinese smartphone maker ZTE Corp. has plans to dominate the Philippine smartphone market through the creation of affordable handsets in the next three years.

The telecommunications giant has already become the world's fourth largest mobile phone manufacturer based on 2012 sales. But it has yet to be a big player in the Philippines, having only entered the Southeast Asian nation a year ago.

At present, the company has manufacturing plants in China, Venezuela and Kazakhstan, but is considering the Philippines as a manufacturing destination should its share in the competitive handset market increase there.

"Our phone is comparable to high-end handsets in the market. We don't compete in the unbranded category," MSI President and CEO Jimmy Go said.

Company managing director in Southeast Asia Jeff Zhou Fang said the company planned to increase smartphone usage in the Philippines to 50 percent from the current 20 percent with four new products.