Huawei to Step Up European Sales Efforts

Huawei Technologies plans to increase its sales efforts in Europe after achieving sales of US$2 billion in the region last year. Speaking to the Financial Times, Zhou Ming Cheng, Huawei's European marketing director said that the company aims to increase its sales further, which had already more than doubled from the US$770 million achieved in 2006

"I do believe that in the coming few years we are still growing very fast here," Mr Zhou said, adding "The European market is one of the biggest in the world - very strategic to the company. So we put more investment in and we believe we will have a better and better position here."

He claimed that the mergers of Alcatel Lucent and Nokia Siemens Networks had created opportunities for the company as mobile operators sought to diversify their supply base.

The company has just started a European roadshow to promote its All-IP infrastructure kit. The company is taking a truck fitted out with network kit to 13 countries over the next three months.

The company has however hardly made a dent in the US market, with sales of just US$100 million in 2007. An attempt by the company to join in as a minority shareholder in a takeover of US firm, 3Com with Bain Capital was blocked by US politicians who are still wary of the Chinese firm.

Huawei recently announced that its contract sales for Asia Pacific (excluding China) rose to US$2.5 billion in 2007, up from US$2 billion from the previous year. The company expects Asia Pacific contract sales (excluding China) to reach US$3.9 billion in 2008 as more telecom operators across Asia Pacific step up network transformation and mobile network expansion from 2G to 3G and HSPA.

On the web: Financial Times

Posted to the site on 11th August 2008