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The Chinese technology giant Huawei will be returning with its smartphones to the Pakistani Market again and is to be confirmed by company officials. Huawei’s major executives in Pakistan told the media at a recent event that the re-launch was expected by the end of this year or by early 2024.
The ceremony, organized to launch the company’s annual report for 2022, was aired in many countries, including Pakistan. The development comes as Huawei Chairman Eric Xu last week issued fighting words against US tech export restrictions on China.
The announcement was made during the ceremony to launch the company’s annual report for 2022 in the which company’s chairman Eric Xu announced the big news. The move to re-enter the Pakistani market comes amidst Huawei Chairman Eric Xu’s recent remarks against US tech export restrictions on China.
“I believe China’s semiconductor industry will not sit idly by but take efforts around self-strengthening and self-reliance.”
During a press conference, he confidently announced that the US sanctions would lead to the rebirth of China’s chip industry. Xu said He told reporters at a press conference that China’s chip industry would be “reborn” as a result of US sanctions.
“I believe China’s semiconductor industry will not sit idly by but take efforts around … self-strengthening and self-reliance,”
Semiconductors have been a flash point in the US-China battle for tech supremacy. Over the past few years, the United States has attempted to cut China and Chinese firms off through sanctions and export restrictions.
“For Huawei, we will render our support to all such self-saving, self-strengthening and self-reliance efforts of the Chinese semiconductor industry,” he said.
Huawei reentering the smartphone market would be very beneficial for Pakistan for the products and also the revenue it brings with it. Even now, Huawei is among the largest tax-paying and job-creative companies in Pakistan, said chief executive officer (CEO) of Huawei Pakistan Shahzad Rasheed.
“Huawei is utilizing around 25 percent of its total revenues on research and development (R&D) to spur growth through innovation and in Pakistan, it has provided 2,500 jobs in the last six months period”, said Rasheed while addressing at the launch of the annual report.
Huawei reported steady operations throughout 2022, having generated USD92.37 billion in revenue and USD5.12 billion in net profits.
The company released its annual report which noted that Huawei continues to strengthen investment in R&D, with an annual expenditure of USD23.22 billion in 2022, representing 25.1% of the company’s annual revenue and bringing its total R&D expenditure over the past 10 years to more than USD 140.55 billion.
Eric Xu also said while addressing the ceremony that:
“In 2022, a challenging external environment and non-market factors continued to take a toll on Huawei’s operations. In the midst of this storm, we kept racing ahead, doing everything in our power to maintain business continuity and serve our customers. We also went to great lengths to grow the harvest – generating a steady stream of revenue to sustain our survival and lay the groundwork for future development.”
Also present at the event was Sabrina Meng, Huawei’s CFO. She noted, “Despite substantial pressure in 2022, our overall business results were in line with forecast. At the end of 2022, our liability ratio was 58.9% and our net cash balance was USD25.35 billion.”
In 2022, revenue from Huawei’s carrier, enterprise, and consumer businesses was USD40.84 billion, USD19.15 billion, and USD30.84 billion, respectively.
“In addition, our balance of total assets reached 0.14 trillion USD, largely composed of current assets such as cash, short-term investments, and operating assets. Our financial position remains solid, with strong resilience and flexibility. In 2022, our total R&D spend was USD23.22 billion, representing 25.1% of our total revenue – among the highest in Huawei’s history. In times of pressure, we press on – with confidence.”
