FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Huawei shrugs off US worries, looks towards the Asia Pacific

Huawei shrugs off US worries, looks towards the Asia Pacific

DESPITE THE ongoing backwinds from the United States and some of its alliances, Chinese giant Huawei Technologies Co remains confident that it will continue to grow further in Asia Pacific region, according to Bob Zhu, deputy general manager of Huawei Myanmar.

Citing the annual report for 2018, Zhu told a press conference yesterday Huawei enjoyed 15.1 per cent year-on-year growth in the Asia Pacific region last year, resulting in the revenue of nearly US$12 billion.
“We do not have any concern over the potential impacts of the backwind from the US. So far, our business in Myanmar as well as in the region is growing well, even higher than the past few years,” he said.
“We have not witnessed any single sign of negative impacts in our business yet. Many of our corporate clients in Myanmar as well as in the region are so professional that they are wise enough to see the truth, when it comes to cyber security of Huawei products and solutions.”
Zhu said the trend would go on, as their clients from both public and private sectors continue to believe in Huawei’s offerings.
“The major difference between Myanmar and other Asean countries is that this country has a big population, and enjoyed very rapid economic growth over the past few years, when compared to others in the region,” he said.
“Myanmar enjoyed significant growth in the ICT industry in the past few years. Mobile penetration in Myanmar is currently around 100 per cent of the population, but only 20 per cent have access to 4G services. Broadband services account for only one per cent of the population so there is much room for improvement.”
He said both Myanmar and regional markets could not be interfered in by the US, provided that the demand for better, safer technology is on the rise in Asia Pacific.
“We do not mind being banned from the US market. But, they are trying to persuade other countries not to use Huawei’s offerings. It is a big problem for us,” he said.
“We still enjoy very good performance, and a stable growth. Millions of customers from most of the countries around the world still choose to trust us, and give us a lot of support. So, we believe this influence [by the US] will be smaller and smaller.”
Zhu said Huawei could maintain its healthy growth in Myanmar last year, like in other Asean countries. Its consumer business grew by 36 per cent, with more than 1 million smart devices sold in Myanmar. Enterprise and cloud business achieved many breakthroughs, and Huawei worked with KBZ bank to launch mobile money services which have served nearly 2 million users so far.
“Since 2018, when Huawei Cloud was introduced to Myanmar, many local enterprises across the industry are able to rapidly and efficiently deploy IT system and services,” he said.
“We will bring more products and solutions to Myanmar, on a par with other Asean countries. No one can stop Huawei, and we will be growing further locally, regionally and globally.”
 

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