Huawei Technologies Co will begin assembling phones in India with manufacturing partner Flextronics International Ltd, establishing a beachhead in the world's fastest-growing smartphone arena.

The Chinese company expects to have Flex put together its first gadgets starting October, Jay Chen, the chief executive for Huawei's Indian business, told reporters at a news conference.

Huawei, the world's third largest smartphone maker, joins rivals from Samsung Electronics Co and Apple Inc in targeting one of the few markets still rapidly expanding as global demand stagnates. But intense competition between market leader Samsung and Chinese names such as Xiaomi Corp and Lenovo Group Ltd has begun to depress margins. Grabbing a solid share of India, however, could further Huawei's stated ambition of displacing Apple and Samsung to become the world's top maker of phones.