Huawei

The logo of Huawei

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd (华为技术有限公司) is one of the world's biggest telecommunication equipment and service providers with company headquarters located in Shenzhen, China.

Founded around 1987 by legendary businessman Ren Zhengfei (任正非), who previously served as a military technologist in People's Liberation Army (PLA), the company overtook Swedish Telecom giant Ericsson to become the world’s largest telecom equipment vendor in 2012.

Focusing on the business of telecommunication network building by providing operational and consulting services and products all over the world, Huawei has put much emphasis on research and development (R&D), with over 40 percent of its 140,000 employees worldwide working in this sector.

Initially entering into the mainstream telecommunication market by paving its way through China's less developed regions some 20 years ago, the company has now expanded its business to over 140 countries, including, the United States, Germany, Sweden, Britain and Turkey. Additionally, the company has forged partnerships with several of the industry's global high-rollers, such as IBM, Dutch Telfort and Australia-based Optus.

According to the company's annual report, released in April 2012, its sales reached 203.9 billion yuan (US$32.5 billion) the previous year, registering a year-on-year growth of 11.7 percent and yielding a net profit of 11.6 billion yuan. And the investment in R&D soared by 34.2 percent year on year to 23.7 billion yuan, accounting for approximately 11.6 percent of the annual sales revenues.

However, the company's performance in 2012 would be disturbed by the spying charges coming from the House of Representative U.S. intelligence Committee regarding concerns over America's national security.

Huawei rejected the allegations, describing the company as "globally trusted and respected." "The security and integrity of our products are demonstrated throughout the world," said William Plummer, spokesman and vice-president of external affairs based in the U.S. during an email interview.

On July 4, the Chinese telecommunication giant confirmed that it has been elected to join the board of the 5G infrastructure Association in Europe.