Xiaomi's IPO could raise about 10 billion dollars for the company. The smartphone maker hopes to price the share sale late in June if its application is approved by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's listing committee. The listing could become one of the world's biggest first-time share sales, and comes as the company is expanding in Europe. --Al Goodman reports from Madrid.

This is one of Xioami's first stores in Europe. It opened last November in Madrid, on the same day as the other first store, also in the Spanish capital. The Beijing-based smartphone maker, trying to get a foothold in Europe, after making big gains already in China and in India. And it's finding some takers here on the Old Continent.

GONZALO MORENO ECONOMICS STUDENT "Xiaomi's working well. The mobile phones are very cheap, with quality phones so I came here to look one model."

This Spanish economics student says he sold his other phone earlier in the day, and brought only his SIM card along. He wanted a Xiaomi low-end model that costs three hundred dollars but they're out. So he's considering paying twice that amount, for a high-end model.

That's just the sort of interest Xiaomi is hoping for in Europe, where the company says it's focusing more on brand awareness than in Asia. Xiaomi representatives were not immediately available for interviews but in written replies, say they started in Spain because of its strong Internet penetration and e-commerce presence.

AL GOODMAN MADRID, SPAIN "Seven months after opening this store, Xiaomi is still very much the new kid on the block in Spain and elsewhere in Europe, where stores are opening in France and Italy. And the competition is fierce. Just upstairs in this shopping center, there's a Samsung store. And an Apple store, is not far away."

Xiaomi also plans to enter Britain, Germany and the Netherlands. But it's watching the competition, especially its Chinese competitors, Huawei and ZTE, which have had problems in the U.S. market, the Wall Street Journal reports. Here in Madrid, some consumers say the differences between Xiaomi and Apple, for instance, are clear.

ANA FERNANDEZ PHARMACIST "Because I prefer this company than I-phone. I have a lot of problems with I-phone and with this, it's the same phone, but better, for me."

But this pharmacist says Xiaomi is not without problems. She says she's back in the store seeking help about her new Xiaomi phone, which abruptly ends some phone calls. But others, like this visiting student from Lima, Peru, is happy just to be in the store. There aren't any in his country, in Latin America. For now, for retail expansion, Xiaomi wants to make good in Europe before tackling the Americas. Al Goodman, CGTN, Madrid.