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The global chip shortage is increasing expenses for Xiaomi, the company's President Wang Xiang has said, while indicating that some of these increased costs might have to be passed on to the consumers in certain cases.

Airing his views during the company's fourth quarter earnings call on Wednesday, Wang said that the company will continue to optimise the costs of its hardware devices.

"To be honest, we will do our best to offer the best price we can to consumers. But sometimes, we may have to pass part of the cost increase to the consumer in different cases," he said.

Several factors including the supply chain disruptions during the pandemic and sanctions against some Chinese technology companies have contributed to the shortage of computer chips that the electronics industry is dealing with since last year.

Companies like Apple, AMD, Sony, and Qualcomm have raised concern over chip shortages, including parts for iPhones and consoles like the PlayStation 5.

Manufacturing shortages have been reported in the auto and tech industries due to the pandemic.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, Xiaomi's revenue amounted to 70.5 billion yuan, representing an increase of 24.8 per cent and an adjusted net profit of 3.2 billion yuan, representing an increase of 36.7 per cent year-over-year, the company said in a statement.

In India, Xiaomi ranked No 1 for the 13th consecutive quarter in the fourth quarter of 2020 in terms of smartphone shipments, with a market share of 27.4 per cent, according to Canalys.