Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co on Wednesday unveiled a new line of commercial office products that deepens its penetration into the enterprise market, as the company continues to diversify its business under the weight of U.S. trade sanctions.
Targeting both government and enterprise customers, the new products – including laptops and desktops, printers and displays – come with Huawei’s own cloud storage and data protection services, according to the Shenzhen-based company.
The desktop product’s online launch also informed the public that Huawei’s consumer business group, led by its once lucrative smartphone operations, has been rebranded as the device business group.
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“The rebranding marks Huawei’s expansion into the commercial realm [office] market,” said Richard Yu Chengdong, longtime general manager of Huawei’s consumer business group, at the launch.
Huawei Technologies Co introduced a new line of commercial office products for the broad Chinese business market on April 20, 2022. Photo: Weibo alt=Huawei Technologies Co introduced a new line of commercial office products for the broad Chinese business market April 20, 2022. Photo: Weibo>
Yu, who also leads Huawei’s cloud services, artificial intelligence and smart vehicle solutions operations, said the device business group will focus on education, healthcare, manufacturing, transport, financial services and energy.
The rebranding of Yu’s business group reflects Huawei’s strong commitment to repositioning itself as a leading enterprise and government solution provider.
One of the private company’s business services segments, Huawei Cloud, has already recorded revenue of 20.1 billion yuan ($3.1 billion) last year, up 30 percent compared to 2020. Huawei Cloud held an 18% share of mainland China’s cloud infrastructure services. market last year, according to research firm Canalys, to rank behind the industry-leading cloud unit of Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post.
Huawei’s corporate market expansion comes after its recent decision to issue 3 billion yuan of short-term debt, a month after selling 3 billion yuan in China’s interbank market. The proceeds will support business development and the “implementation of critical strategies”, according to the company.
Huawei Technologies Co’s cloud infrastructure services business was mainland China’s second-largest provider last year, behind Alibaba Group Holding’s cloud unit, according to research firm Canalys. Photo: Shutterstock alt=Huawei Technologies Co’s cloud infrastructure services business was mainland China’s second-largest provider last year, behind Alibaba Group Holding’s cloud unit, according to research firm Canalys. Photo: Shutterstock>
Huawei, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker and China’s former largest smartphone supplier, was added to Washington’s trade blacklist in May 2019. Since then, the company has worked to adapt its operations to the stricter restrictions imposed in 2020, covering access to chips developed or produced using the United States. technology, wherever you are.
The company posted total revenue of 636.8 billion yuan last year, down 29 percent from 2020, marking its worst annual sales performance ever.
With no end in sight to US restrictions amid simmering tensions between Beijing and Washington, Huawei has pursued initiatives to diversify its operations. These include the launch of an electric sport utility vehicle, the sale of refurbished smartphones and the licensing of its handset designs, the expansion of its cloud services operations in the Asia-Pacific region and the building partnerships for its HarmonyOS mobile platform.
Yet Huawei’s struggles continue. Yu this week said in an interview posted on microblogging platform Weibo that global chip shortages and other supply chain disruptions have made it difficult for Huawei to meet its electric vehicle production target.
“It’s almost impossible for us to deliver all 300,000 models this year due to the global chip shortage,” Yu said.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice journal on China and Asia for over a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2022 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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