Huawei will address security concerns following CFO arrest

Chinese tech giant Huawei, which is facing increasing global pressure over allegations that its equipment is unsecure and facilitates espionage, is unaffected by the detention of its chief financial officer, a top company executive said.

The phone maker also announced plans to invest $2 billion (Dh7.34bn) in the next five years to address security concerns through improved engineering and also called other nations to work together to mitigate security risks.

Huawei’s deputy chairman Ken Hu said that “business operations were not being impacted by this event [CFO arrest].” Executive travel plans were not affected and Huawei remains confident about its trade compliance system, said Mr Ken at a press conference at the company’s new campus in Dongguan, China.

Meng Wanzhou was detained on December 1 by Canada at the request of the US for allegedly conspiring to defraud American banks and violating sanctions related to doing business in Iran.

She is currently out on bail and has to stay in Vancouver, awaiting a possible extradition to the United States where, if convicted, she faces 30 years in jail.

Despite facing a ban from various countries on the import of 5G equipments, Huawei said it ranked number one among all information and communications technology equipment providers, “having already shipped more than 10,000 base stations to markets around the world”.

Fifth-generation is expected to support significantly faster mobile broadband speeds and heavier data use than previous generations while enabling the full potential of the Internet of Things. Mr Ken said that Huawei will remain the market leader in broadband for at least next 12 to 18 months.

The UK company BT is the latest telecom company barring Huawei 5G equipment from its core network. Australia and New Zealand also announced this year that they would not allow Huawei to be involved in building the next generation 5G systems in their countries.

“Some security concerns based on the technology for 5G were very legitimate … but able to be clarified or mitigated through collaboration with operators and governments,” said Mr Ken.

“We will continue to increase our investment on security and security related technologies.”

Local Japanese media has also reported that the country’s top three carriers – NTT Docomo, SoftBank and KDDI – will ban telecommunications equipment by Huawei.

US media reports have suggested Washington is urging its allies to avoid Chinese technology networks amid fears they could be used for spying.

Huawei, which surpassed Apple as the world’s second-largest smartphone manufacturer this year, is forecast to exceed the $100 billion revenue mark in 2018, said Mr Ken.

He admitted that the company still faces “challenges”.

The phone maker announced plans to invest $2 billion in the next five years to address security concerns