Huawei Technologies said the Chinese telecommunications-equipment maker plans to increase investment and hiring in Europe as part of an effort to change perceptions of a company he acknowledged has been seen as "mysterious". In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, President Ren Zhengfei said the company he founded is investing and opening itself up in an effort to build trust with foreign customers and governments. Huawei has faced allegations in the US that it is a security risk, as well as the threat of an European Union investigation into allegations that China is dumping or subsidizing mobile equipment.
"My reluctance to meet with the media has been used as a reason to label Huawei as a mysterious company," Ren said. In a few years, "our idea is to make people perceive Huawei as a European company," he said. As part of the push, Huawei will increase investment in European research and development, and will extend an employee incentive plan to all key non-Chinese employees this year in order to attract and keep top talent, Ren said.
Huawei had a nearly 22 percent share of mobile-network infrastructure spending in Europe, the Middle East and Africa last year, up from just 12 percent in 2010, according to market researcher Infonetics. In contrast, in North America, Huawei had only a 2.8 percent share of that market in 2013, prompting the company to pull back from investments there.
Huawei, founded by Ren in 1987, has repeatedly denied it has benefited from government subsidies, and said that allegations it is a conduit for espionage are tantamount to China-bashing. Ren is a former officer of the People's Liberation Army, but the employee-owned company denies direct links to the Chinese government or military.
Ren also rejected the idea of taking thes company public in the coming years, saying that public shareholders would force Huawei to focus too much on the short term, rather than long-term research and development. Huawei is owned by its Chinese employees, including Ren. He holds a 1.4 percent stake, but has veto power over important decisions, a right he says he has had no reason to exercise yet.
