Bangkok--6 Jan--Francom Asia
"Despite concerted efforts by the US government to keep us down, we've made it out the other side," said Mr. Eric Xu
Huawei Rotating Chairman Mr. Eric Xu released an internal New Year's message thanking all employees of the Chinese tech giant for their selfless contributions during the challenging year and telling them to get ready for a tough year ahead. "The US government will continue to suppress the development of leading technology, but the company will forge ahead to survive and thrive," confirmed the chairman. Also included in the internal message was the company's estimated revenue of 850 billion yuan (THB3.6 trillion) for 2019, an increase of approximately 18% year-on-year.
The rotating chairman shared that in the past year the firm has seen huge growth in all of its core businesses — Huawei's carrier business has been leading the commercial rollout of 5G worldwide, securing over 50 commercial contracts globally. Its enterprise business continues to drive digital transformations across industries as more than 700 cities and 228 Fortune Global 500 companies have chosen Huawei as their digital transformation partner. With the smartphone shipments exceeding 240 million units throughout the year, Mr. Xu said Huawei consumer business also continues to see robust growth. In addition to its impressive smartphone sales record, the company saw 243% annual growth in the wearable band segment, with 5.9 million units shipped and 13% global market share.
In the message, Mr. Xu expressed his sincere gratitude to the hard-working employees for their dedication and gave a special thanks to those who have been working day and night "to patch up the holes in this embattled aircraft." In November, Huawei spokesman announced the firm will reward its employees with a shared bonus of 2 billion yuan (THB8.6 billion) as a mark of appreciation for their efforts to help the company get through the difficult times after the US ban.
In his closing remarks, Mr. Xu stressed that 2020 will not be easy as he predicted that Huawei will continue to remain in the Entity List. "The US government's campaign against Huawei is strategic and long-term," he said, insisting that Huawei will always be able to turn crises into opportunities. "It's a great opportunity for us to motivate ourselves and build up some muscle," he told the staff.
Going forward, Huawei will keep enhancing its capabilities and pressing ahead with its USD2 billion (THB60 billion) five-year budget for building quality, trustworthy products and solutions for billions of people around the world.