Global tech powerhouse Huawei has affirmed Asia-Pacific is the company's "major area of focus and investment" and Huawei Cloud is now the fastest growing cloud service provider in the region.
Rotating chairman Eric Xu spoke at "Huawei Connect 2021" virtual press conference yesterday, which focuses on five key areas: ubiquitous connectivity, pervasive intelligence, personalised experience with digital, the importance of a digital platform, and the importance of technology as an enabler for help other industries become low-carbon.
The 54-year-old chairman said Huawei is investing US$100 million through the "Huawei Spark Program" over the next three years.
The programme aims to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Asia-Pacific, including those in Thailand, use the Huawei cloud and ecosystem to build and accelerate the growth of sustainable startups.
"We are going to help SMEs in Asia-Pacific use Huawei cloud infrastructure and build prosperity via access to the Huawei cloud ecosystem. We hope Huawei Cloud will become the cloud service provider of choice for governments and enterprises in the region," said Mr Xu.
Abel Deng, chief executive of Huawei Technologies Thailand, recently said Thailand is a key growth market for Huawei in the region.
He believes the key to Thailand's digital transformation is the country's efforts towards carbon neutrality. Huawei's Digital Power business aims to support Thailand becoming Asean's carbon-neutral leader, with leading technology such as the Smart PV for clean energy generation in addition to global practices to reduce carbon emissions.
The company also wants to support the fight to control Covid-19 in Thailand, cultivation of digital talent in the country, and helping SMEs and startups build an ecosystem.
Although the aggressive stance towards China has been toned down under the Biden administration, the restrictions on sales of goods and technology which the US implemented during the Trump presidency are still in effect. Those restrictions affect semiconductors, antennas and batteries for Huawei 5G devices.
Mr Xu said Huawei's 5G-related business areas suffered significantly from the losses of the handset business.
However, some less sophisticated technology could be approved on a case-by-case basis, such as the licences for Huawei's auto chips, which were approved at the end of August by the Biden administration, he said.
Mr Xu was cautiously optimistic about the prospects for US-China relations.
"Huawei is a business organisation. We have to provide good services to our customers and try everything we can to put in place the necessary elements for our survival," he said.
"Everyone wants this situation can improve, but we cannot harbour unrealistic hopes."
Regarding possible restrictions from the US government on Huawei Cloud, Mr Xu said: "We are hearing those rumours. They are speculation and we do not comment on speculation."
