The Middle East is a pioneer in the ICT field today and remains a very important market for Huawei globally, the company's Chairman Liang Hua recently confirmed in an exclusive interview with senior business presenter Lara Habib from Al Arabiya News Channel at the company headquarters in Shenzhen, China. The executive spoke about the company's history in the Middle East, the brand's investment strategy for the coming year, and how Huawei is confronting some of the latest developments since the US Entity List ban. "The Middle East has always been among the pioneers in terms of network construction and is among the world's first wave of 5G adopters," Hua stated. "The Middle East has also taken ICT infrastructure investment and construction very seriously, for example the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has included a schedule in Saudi Vision 2030 that coincides well with its 5G network rollout cycle. "In particular, the region's large number of young people and widespread Internet adoption provide a strong impetus for carriers to build 5G networks. These investments will empower other industries like oil and gas, healthcare, tourism, and smart cities." In terms of its own development, Hua said that while the US Entity List ban has affected the business to a degree, it is often the US companies that miss out. "We hope that Huawei can be removed from the Entity List. However, thus far the Entity List has not significantly impacted us. Actually, it has had a larger impact on US suppliers," says Hua. The chairman noted that Huawei began developing its business continuity management system a long time ago. This system was originally designed to ensure Huawei could cope with unforeseen impacts on its supply chain. "Several years ago, we realized that the US attacks against Huawei were increasing in intensity. Therefore, we were not caught unprepared by the US Entity List. That being said, if the US government does allow US suppliers to supply us, we will gladly continue working with them," said Hua. The chairman added that while the US has been pressuring other countries to ban Huawei products, in reality, many telecom carriers from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America have chosen Huawei to build their 5G networks. Moreover, Huawei has found alternatives for US chips and components for its core products, ensuring these products are no longer affected by the US Entity List ban. As a result of such planning, Huawei has maintained "robust operations with good financial results", according to Hua, with global revenues increasing by 24.4% year-on-year during the first three quarters of 2019. "Our top priorities are to ensure that our internal operations and management continue as usual, and that we produce better products and deliver better services to our customers," declared Hua. Hua noted that the Huawei R&D investment is set to reach almost $17.4 billion this year. The company is able to achieve rapid R&D results in part due to its Employee Stock Ownership Plan, according to Hua. With this plan, all Huawei company shares are owned by employees, which Hua says enables Huawei to focus on the company's long-term business development rather than seeking short-term gains. Locally, Hua says the company is prioritizing investments in its future. "The Middle East is a very important market for Huawei. We have worked very well with our customers in the region. Huawei is really in the Middle East, for the Middle East," asserted Hua. "We are working hard to make continuous contributions to the region and feel that we have an important role to play. We want to leverage cutting-edge digital technology to bridge the digital divide, bring more convenience to people's lives, and drive economic growth in the Middle East." — SG
