HTC value surpasses Nokia as smartphone sales rise

Taiwanese firm now valued at $33.8bn

HTC's market value increased to $33.8bn at the close of trading in Asia on Thursday, and the company has overtaken long-established rival Nokia for the first time.

The news represents a significant milestone in the Taiwanese firm's history since its inception in 1997.

HTC has grown into a billion dollar company, but mainstream success in the US and western Europe has been acheived mainly in the past three years owing to the popularity of its Android smartphones.

Shares in the manufacturer have increased by a third since January. In contrast, Nokia's shares have fallen by 20 per cent as it continues to struggle in the smartphone market.

Nokia remains the world's biggest producer of mobile devices by volume, with 28.9 per cent of the global market, but continues to lose share.

Nokia is struggling in the smartphone market and is going through a transition period. Former Microsoft executive Stephen Elop was tasked with leading the firm out of the doldrums in September 2010.

Elop delivered the now infamous memo to employees in which he described Nokia as a "burning platform" and outlined a strategy to help turn the manufacturer's fortunes around.

This was followed by an announcement that Nokia was partnering with Microsoft and would use the Windows Phone 7 operating system as its primary platform.

Apple and Samsung remain ahead of HTC in terms of market value, but the Taiwanese firm focuses only on mobile devices, whereas the other two create a range of products including desktops and laptops.

HTC is likely to continue benefitting from the growing dominance of the Android platform, which is predicted to have 48 per cent of the market by 2015.