Huawei, the Chinese telecoms equipment manufacturer, is reportedly planning to sell-off a multi-billion dollar stake in its mobile handset business to a foreign investor to gain a foothold in the North American market. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, which sites unnamed sources, Huawei will invite bids from “strategic investors and private-equity companies” later this month. If it goes ahead, the deal would mark one of the largest-ever foreign investments in a Chinese firm, the report says, though it does not put a specific value on the deal.

Huawei’s handset business is smaller than its core network-equipment business, but the company hinted earlier this week that it plans to more than double its volume of handset shipments in 2008. The South China Morning Post reported that Huawei has set itself a target of 50 million units in 2008 (up from 20 million last year), a benchmark that could see it draw level with ZTE, China’s largest handset vendor. ZTE has also set itself a target of 50 million unit shipments by year-end, the report says.