Fast-growing Chinese device maker Xiaomi, which has just launched products in India, has been forced to delay launch of its flagship Mi3 smartphone in Indonesia and Brazil.

In an interview with the New Delhi, picked up by the Wall Street Journal, Hugo Barra – Xiaomi’s vice president for global operations – said the delays were due to a “long and painful device-certification process”.

Barra said he was nonetheless hopeful that Mi3 would be selling in Indonesia by the end of August. He reckoned Brazil, which has more red tape, could take up to 12 months to complete the certification process.

This is a setback for Xiaomi, which has coveted Brazil as a big growth opportunity. “Without a doubt, India and probably Brazil will become our biggest markets to focus on after China,” said Barra.

Xiaomi has products available also in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

At the beginning of the year, Xiaomi set a target of shipping 40 million smartphones during 2014. Subsequent reports said Lei Jun, the firm’s co-founder and CEO, had increased this to 60 million with a 100 million target set for 2015.

Xiaomi shipped 26.1 million smartphones in the first six months of 2014, a 271 per cent increase year-on-year.

The company is expected to unveil Mi4 on Tuesday (22 July), which will see the vendor move to a metal body rather than polycarbonate (a sign of its growing aspirations as a premium device player).