MAKATI CITY, Philippines -- Handset maker HTC is planning to set up a sales office in the Philippines by yearend, an executive told reporters here.

"We do plan to have our sales office here. We want to invest more in this market," said Kevin Hou, managing director of Southeas Asia of HTC.

Hou said the Taiwan-based handset maker has been doing a "decent job" in the Philippines after close to two years in the local market.

"But a lot of things can be done better," said Hou who was in the country to introduce HTC Touch Diamond, a new handset that sports a slick touch screen interface and third-generation mobile network support.

Hou said the company will focus on pushing its brand in the region.

From 2006 to 2007, HTC saw a 197-percent growth in terms of unit sales in Southeast Asia, the executive said.

This year, the company still expects to experience three-digit growth because of the demand for more newer handsets, Hou said.

HTC said the company will continue with its strategy to sell "easier and intuitive" interfaces and user experience for its handsets in the region, while investing on brand marketing.

"The mobile phone market is huge," he said, when asked how HTC intends to position itself against rivals like Apple, Samsung and LG.

"We will focus on innovation" he added, noting that about 25 percent of their employees to date are in research and development.

HTC is thinking of appointing another local distributor, apart from SiSPH Technologies Inc.

Asked to react on Nokia's move to make Symbian royalty-free, Hou said HTC will continue on using the Windows mobile platform.

"There is really no need to look at the others," Hou said, referring to Symbian and other emerging operating systems for handsets.