Technology business Huawei says it’ll invest £650 million in its UK operations and will spend another £650 million in procurement over the next five years. The company, which already employs over 800 people in the UK, now plans to increase its workforce to over 1,500 staff by 2017.
Ren Zhengfei, founder and CEO of Huawei, announced the plans after a meeting with UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Lord Green, the Minister of State for Business.
Mr Ren said “The UK is one of the most important European markets in which Huawei has invested. Over the past eleven years we have found its Government to be transparent, efficient and practical. The UK is an open market, which welcomes overseas investment, I am therefore very pleased today, to be announcing the $2 billion investment and procurement plan, promoting the development of openness and free trade. The UK is a centre of innovation, has a highly skilled workforce, and is respected internationally for the quality of its legal and educational systems. It is for these reasons we have selected the UK as the location for a number of our centres of excellence. I would like to thank our UK customers and partners, as well as the British Government, for their continued support.”