HTC has so far shipped only 4.75 million units of its new flagship smartphone, the HTC One M9, since the model launched in the latter half of March, down 43.75% as compared to shipments of the HTC One M8 during its initial three months, according to a Chinese-language China Business Journal report.

HTC's market value has also declined to around US$2 billion recently compared to its all-time high of US$33.8 billion a few years ago, the paper added.

The mid-range to high-end smartphone market (models priced at CNY1,600 (US$258) and up) in China has become mature, but HTC's flagship models are still set at CNY4,000, pushing consumers to pick up iPhone devices, the journal quoted China-based iiMedia Research as saying.

It will be difficult for HTC to make a new breakthrough in the China market as local smartphone vendors have waged a new round of price wars, particularly for mid-range and entry-level models.

For example, Xiaomi Technology has lowered the price of its Hongmi (Red Rice) 2A to CNY499 from CNY599 and Coolpad (in cooperation with Qihoo 360) is offering its Great God F1 plus at CNY399. However, HTC's mid-range HTC Desire series products are available at CNY1,000-2,000.