Huawei: No major acquisitions considered for 5 years

Huawei: 5 years without considering any major acquisitions Huawei, the world's second-largest telecoms network equipment provider, seems dismissive when many companies take acquisitions as a way to develop themselves further. According to the Wall Street Journal's Chinese network, Huawei's senior vice president and board member, Chen Lifang, said recently that there was a consensus within the company that no major acquisitions would be considered for at least five years, focusing mainly on improving internal efficiency and growth in management. She also said Huawei would not consider initial public offerings for at least five years. At present, Huawei's top priority is to expand its investment in research and development operations. Indeed, even in times of economic weakness, Huawei's management has not cut this spending. Last year, Huawei spent 4.8 billion dollars on research and development, accounting for nearly 14% of the group's revenues, well above the $3.8 billion trillion in 2011. At present, about half of Huawei's employees are engaged in research and development work. In the face of Huawei's difficulties in foreign markets, including the US, Chen Lifang said the concern over reliance on foreign technology suppliers is not unique to the US or a particular region of the world, a problem that takes time to slowly adjust. In addition, although nearly 70% of Huawei's revenue comes from overseas, its management remains concentrated in the country. Chen Lifang said Huawei is giving more authority to overseas offices, such as the establishment of the London office as an international financial operations center. She says more than half of the company's executives are likely to work overseas in the future.