HTC poured cold water on speculation that Chinese internet company Qihoo 360 was set to take a significant stake in the troubled smartphone maker, issuing an official statement to “strongly deny the news”.

“We or the chairwoman Cher Wang have not been in contact with Qihoo 360,” it continued.

It had been suggested that the Chinese firm would buy up to 31.5 per cent of HTC from existing shareholders, following comments made by international finance firms and reported by local news sources.

Qihoo has been building up its presence in the smartphone space, investing $409 million in a joint venture with smartphone maker Coolpad earlier this year. But following a deal between Coopad and Leshi Internet Information and Technology (Letv), it was reported that Qihoo 360’s CEO said he was “stabbed in the back”.

And it is not the first time that troubled HTC has had to iterate its intention to stay independent: it recently scotched talk of a tie-up with Asus.