It might not be a household name just yet, but popular Chinese mobile web browser UCWeb is hoping that it can become one in the next year or two following its decision to launch a US facing version of its browser.

The UCWeb browser, which has so far accumulated a whopping 200 million users in China and India since its launch in 2004, is compatible with a web of different platforms including iOS, Android, Blackberry and Java.

It claims to have sewn up almost 50% of the market on its home turf, while attracting 20% of all Indian smartphone users, due to its better speed optimization and more customizable portal. In addition, UCWeb features multi-touch controls that allow for a smoother browsing experience, as well as a night mode function that it claims is ‘easier on the eyes’ when browsing in the dark. The browser’s popularity is helped by the fact that it comes pre-installed in around 25% of smartphones in China and India, although the vast majority of users download the app directly.

Now, the company has its sights set on western consumers, which it says are not really that keyed in to the type of mobile browsers they use. In line with this aim, UCWeb is also looking into a possible IPO in the west.

Yu Yongfu, CEO of UCWeb, says that the company wants to avoid Asian stock markets, as these have been even more unreceptive to tech-based IPOs than NASDAQ has in recent months:

“Obviously, we will want to keep the company independent. Eventually, I think it will go public, but right now the market is not very good. The Chinese market is even worse. If we were to list in the US, the brand name of our company would be better.”

Yongfu appeared confident that his brand has much to offer prospective investors, insisting that mobile advertising revenues, which account for approximately 75% of its profits, are likely to increase in the next few years. As it stands, mobile ads have a much lower cost-per-click than PC-based ads, but Yongfu insists that this will change:

“Monetization schemes on mobile phones are where PC monetization was about 10 years ago. Over time, the gap will shrink,” he affirmed.