Posted on Wednesday, October 01 2014 @ 12:40 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Chinese telecom giant Huawei announced it will be investing 1.5 billion EUR in France. The investment will focus primarily on smartphone development, Huawei's local subsidiary will receive almost a third of the investment and the company will also strengthen existing relationships with firms like STMicro. Additionally, Huawei also promised French prime minister Manual Valls to support France's startup sector and made promises about extra jobs.
The company told prime minister Valls it will double its current workforce through 2018, with 650 additional staff including 200 researchers. The Borg-of-the-Orient reckons its spend will indirectly create another 2,000 jobs.
It's part of a long push by Huawei to assimilate itself to its international markets, some of which have been wary of the company's alleged links to the Chinese government and military. Its relationship with the US is frosty, and in spite of lobbying, Australia has blocked the company from participating in its National Broadband Network Project. Late in September, Huawei bought UK Internet of Things outfit Neul.
Source: The Register
