The figures are among those found in an economic impact study commissioned by Huawei and conducted by Oxford Economics. It is the first time Huawei has had its economic impact in any country independently audited.
The impact study also assessed Huawei’s progress in reaching its target of spending £1.3bn in the UK over the five years from 2013-17, split equally between investment and procurement. Based on its analysis of Huawei’s activities, Oxford Economics concludes that “Huawei is on track to meet this spending commitment”.
The five-year spending commitment was made in September 2012 by Huawei’s founder and CEO, Ren Zhengfei, in a meeting with UK Prime Minister David Cameron.
Ken Hu, Huawei Group Rotating CEO and an executive director on the Huawei UK Board, said: “The UK is rightly known as a country which has an outstanding record in fostering business growth and pioneering technological innovations. These attributes make it one of our most important markets internationally. We are proud to make a contribution to the UK economy through our products and services and the ground-breaking innovation and R&D that we carry out in Britain. The impact report confirms the benefits we bring, but also indicates areas where can improve.”
Lord Browne, Chairman of the Huawei UK Board, said: “Huawei is a major investor in the UK, dedicated to making sure that the UK remains a leader in the global ICT sector. Through the more than 1,000 staff we employ directly and the 6,000 employees we support through our supply chain, Huawei is showing its commitment to creating a world-class, highly skilled workforce here in the UK. Huawei will continue to invest in R&D and develop closer ties with customers, industry partners and leading British universities as we look to guide the company during its next phase of growth.”
Since 2012 Huawei has acquired the Cambridge-based Internet of Things company Neul, opened a new R&D centre in Bristol, helped roll out 4G and broadband networks around the UK for customers including EE and BT, begun pioneering the development of 5G technologies, and increased its UK workforce from 781 to 1,030 people. The company now has a presence at 15 locations across the UK.