China’s Xiaomi will continue its international roll-out by debuting in the Middle East and North Africa next month.

Dubai-based distribution partner TASK FZCO announced in a statement it will launch a range of Xiaomi devices initially in Saudi Arabia and the UAE at the start of 2016, with a subsequent roll-out across the rest of the Gulf States and North Africa “shortly afterward”.

Xiaomi this year made its first steps outside of Asia by bringing its low cost smartphones to Brazil. It was also reportedly set to launch in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya from mid-November, working with Mobile in Africa Group (MIA) as a distribution partner.

Xiaomi has established itself as a leading smartphone manufacturer since launching five years ago. However it recently lost top spot in the domestic Chinese smartphone market to Huawei, according to Canalys.

It also dropped to fifth place in the global smartphone market in Q3 this year, reported Strategy Analytics.

The use of distribution partners, such as TASK, suggests that the company is also struggling to replicate its innovative online sales model, so successful in China, in other markets.

“We are very excited to bring Xiaomi’s top quality smartphones to the Middle East and North Africa in January 2016, as we believe that they will be a very attractive option for consumers in the region,” said Givemore Gurira, COO at TASK.

TASK said it seeks to make the products available through traditional retail and ecommerce channels in the Middle East region.