Huawei Ranked One of the Worlds Most Respected Companies

[Sydney, Australia, 18 December, 2008]: Huawei Technologies (“Huawei”) is a global leader in providing next generation telecommunications networks to many of the world’s top operators. Huawei has been included in the Forbes’ list of top 200 most respected companies in the world and amongst Business Week’s top 10 most influential. It is privately held and 100 per cent employee-owned.

Huawei stridently denies claims made today that it has links to the Chinese military or the Chinese government. “The suggestion is ludicrous and wrong,” said Mr Harry Ho, Huawei Australia’s Vice Managing Director.

Huawei’s global CEO, Mr Ren Zhengfei, once served as a civil engineer in the army engineer corps before leaving the military in 1984. “Prior military service is not uncommon amongst many of today’s business leaders, both within China and around the world,” said Mr Ho.

"We work with 70 per cent of the world’s largest operators including Optus, BT, Orange, Telefonica, Deutsche Telecom, China Mobile, Telecom Italia, America Movil and Vodafone,” said Mr Ho. “Before we can work with those companies, Huawei must meet a strict auditing process that reviews the company’s strategic planning, process, management system, quality control, and human resource.

"We exceed those audits, proving that Huawei is increasingly recognised for its corporate governance and operations, product quality control and service delivery,” said Mr Ho. “Huawei’s focus is on delivering superior technology and service to our partners.”

In Australia, Huawei currently employees 230 personnel across three offices and reported Australian revenue for 2007 of USD103,990,000. Globally, the company employs 87,500 people, of which approximately 80 per cent are shareholders of Huawei.

Huawei is a market-driven company, with telecom operators and service providers forming its main customer base. It was founded in Shenzhen by its CEO, Mr Ren Zhengfei, in 1988 with several employees.

At the onset, Huawei acted as a sales agent for a Hong Kong company producing Public Branch Exchange (PBX) switches, providing installation and after-sale service. In its second year, Huawei began designing and developing its own products. These activities did not require intensive capital investment. Over the years, Huawei diversified into other areas such as switches, access networks, and wireless.

Today, the company is committed to providing innovative and customized products, services and solutions to create long-term value and growth potential for its customers.