Huawei aims to continue its success in the UAE by focusing on Research and Development (R&D), among other things, according to Li Xiangyu, deputy chief of communications and public relations. According to Gulf News, Huawei is giving R&D a priority and allocating a considerable chunk of its revenues in that area.
Nearly 80,000 employees were engaged in R&D, and they comprise 45 per cent of the workforce, according to the company's 2017 annual report. Huawei’s R&D expenditure totalled CNY 89.7 billion which is nearly 14.9 per cent of the company’s revenue.
Huawei staff are working hard on development since they are serving 170 countries, he said. In 2017, the company shipped 153 million smartphones, and its global brand awareness has increased to 86 percent. The number of consumers considering buying a Huawei device in markets outside China saw a year-on-year increase of 100 percent, which put Huawei among the top three global vendors in this category for the first time, according to the report.
Commenting on the company's strategy in the UAE market, Li said it build on its good reputation and continue to gain the trust of its partners and the UAE's two carriers, Etisalat and Du. The future also looks good for the enterprise markets, and the market is huge between the enterprise and consumer in the region, the spokesperson said.
According to the 2017 annual report, the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region generated a 4.7 percent increase in revenues due to the accelerated pace of digital transformation among enterprises and a growing share of the smartphone market. Other regions such as Asia-Pacific and the Americas recorded a 10.3 percent increase and 10.9 percent decrease respectively.