High Tech Computer Corp said yesterday it expects sales on the Chinese mainland to triple this year due to booming demand for smartphones.

Taiwan-based HTC also said it will quadruple the size of its research team in Shanghai within three years and debut its first Windows 7 phone in the fourth quarter.

"Our sales (in China) are expected to triple this year," Paul Hsu, chief operation officer of HTC China, told Shanghai Daily yesterday. "We can achieve the target based on the first-half performance."

HTC has a research center with 200 engineers in Shanghai's Zhangjiang High-Tech Park. It's the biggest research center of its kind on the Chinese mainland and the company plans to hire another 800 people within three years, according to Hsu.

Also yesterday, HTC, China UnionPay and Shanghai F-Road Commercial Services Co, a financial institution specializing in mobile terminal operations, announced they will launch a new phone with mobile payment services.

The HTC S710d phone will include a chip that will function like a credit card.