Huawei

Huawei

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. ( ) is a Chinese multinational networking and telecommunications equipment and services company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It is the largest telecommunications equipment maker in the world, after having overtaken Ericsson.

Huawei was founded in 1988 by ex-military officer Ren Zhengfei and formed as a private company owned by its employees. Its core missions are building telecommunications networks; providing operational and consulting services and equipment to enterprises inside and outside of China; and manufacturing communications devices for the consumer market. Huawei has over 140,000 employees, around 46% of whom are engaged in research and development (R&D). It has 20 R&D institutes in countries including China, the United States, Germany, Sweden, India, Russia, and Turkey, and in 2011 invested around US$3.74 billion in R&D.

In 2010, Huawei recorded profit of 23.8 billion CNY (3.7 billion USD). Its products and services have been deployed in more than 140 countries and it currently serves 45 of the world's 50 largest telecoms operators.

Critics have pointed to the issues Huawei has with intellectual property rights, security concerns and treatment of its workforce and customers. Huawei representatives have in turn denied or disputed these allegations.