Lenovo Group Ltd, said on Tuesday it was in preliminary talks with a party on a potential smartphone business joint venture. The Chinese company did not provide any further details. Previously, Japanese media had reported that Lenovo would set up a joint venture with NEC Corp to focus on smartphone manufacturing and distribution.

NEC declined to comment. However, the Japanese company's mobile business is in a difficult state.

Lenovo has been also rumored in the market over the past year to be on the hunt for Nokia Oyj and blackberry maker Research In Motion.