Huawei, one of the China’s leading networking equipment makers, announced that it is planning to invest £125 million on R&D in the UK.
As part of the investment plan, a new facility in Bristol, which will be focused on researching ICT chips, software, and analog chip technology for the future, is expected to open sometime later this year initially employing 30 employees.
Huawei said the new facility will be opened as part of the company’s “UK Innovation Program” and that it expects to employ around 140 R&D staff across all of its UK sites, including its optoelectronics R&D office in Ipswich, by the end of the year, which will increase to 300 by 2017.
The networking giant’s latest move was welcomed by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, who recently travelled to China to meet Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei.
“I am delighted that today Huawei are announcing a new R&D centre in the UK,” said Osborne.
“The decision of the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker to innovate in Britain is testament to the outstanding quality of our highly skilled workforce and further evidence that our long term economic plan is working.”
Guo Ping, acting CEO at Huawei, said “The UK is forward-thinking, progressive, and fosters innovation. This creativity is a major asset to our R&D efforts and gives us the perfect platform to continue pioneering the new, ground-breaking technologies that are building the future.
“We are committed to working with our customers and partners in the UK to leverage our global presence and customer-centric approach to innovation, bringing value to the UK ICT industry and helping its products and technologies go global.”
Huawei, which opened its first UK office in 2001, currently has 15 offices and more than 900 employees in the country.
Editor’s Note @ June 13, 11:23 AM: The article headline and content has been updated to correctly depict Huawei’s R&D investment plans in the UK.
