Chinese multinational company Huawei has inked an agreement with the U.K.'s trading and investments division to attract more clients and localize its operations in the European country.
Signed on April 16, Wednesday, the three-year Memorandum of Understanding will enhance cooperation between UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and the telecommunications giant. The UKTI serves as the government agency dealing with overseas investors in the U.K.
"Huawei has operated in the U.K. for 15 years and in that time we have grown to employ 1,100 people across 15 U.K. locations," said Chen Lifang, group board director and senior vice president, and Huawei U.K. board director, in a press release. "By working closely with over 200 U.K. suppliers and partners, we aim to foster a healthy and robust ICT ecosystem, which helps to build a Better Connected U.K."
"Our new agreement with UKTI will help to continue this development alongside key partners in the U.K., an important market for us," added Chen.
Huawei is eager to solidify its presence in the country by establishing supply partners there.
In 2012, the Chinese company promised to splurge 1.3 billion pounds on U.K. investments over the succeeding five years. The initiative included boosting R&D staffing levels to 300 roles and investing more than $200 million in R&D by 2017, said Huawei.
UKTI's Michael Boyd praised Huawei's efforts to harmonize its relationship with suppliers.
"This event shows very clearly the strength of a relationship between a major company and its supply chain, and that it wants to bring its supply chain together to celebrate the success of what it has achieved," Boyd was quoted as saying in a China Daily report.
The signing of the MoU was held at The Royal Horseguards Hotel in London. It was witnessed by more than 130 representatives comprising of Huawei's existing and prospected partners.