China-based smartphone maker Vivo announced plans to boost its overseas activities, stating the move will “empower self-expression in more young people globally”.

The company launched its first device in Hong Kong and will “soon” offer products in Taiwan, Singapore and Russia (its first foray into a European market). It also said there will be a “push into the African market” in early 2018.

Vivo explained the move builds on the success of “the widely popular V7+ in India, Thailand, Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Cambodia and Bangladesh”.

V7+, which launched recently, is described as “the ultimate selfie shooter with industry-leading 24MP front camera and FullView display”.

According to Gartner, Vivo was the fifth biggest global smartphone maker in Q2 2017 (although Strategy Analytics gave this spot to the recovering Xiaomi).