Mr Ken Hu, CEO, Huawei
—Developing products,technologies for global marketplace in partnership with Japanese companies, universities
Tokyo, Japan: Vigilance can report that Huawei Technologies Japan K.K. (Huawei Japan) – the Japan subsidiary of the leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider Huawei – will relocate its R&D operation, the Huawei Japan Research Center, to Yokohama in October 2013. A source at Huawei said with many of the company’s existing suppliers and other ICT firms concentrated in Yokohama, the city served as a convenient hub for partnerships and collaborations with the company’s partner firms across the country, adding the Japan Research Center would integrate two Huawei offices currently located in different parts of Tokyo into a consolidated, expanded facility in Yokohama, enabling Huawei to enhance its R&D program to more rapidly respond to the needs of customers in Japan, while also boosting its efforts in the development of new products and technologies for the global marketplace.
The source revealed that as part of its R&D efforts comprising 16 R&D centers around the globe, Huawei started its R&D activities in Japan in 2010 in the field of telecommunications devices, and formally established the Japan Research Center with two offices in Tokyo in 2011, expanding into the network field. By the end of 2013, Huawei Japan plans to increase its workforce at the Japan Research Center from its current 40 employees to 80-100.
The source further said in the fiscal year 2012, Huawei Japan's procurement of components and modules from Japanese companies amounted to US$900 million, and this figure is expected to double over the next few years. These plans he said led to the establishment of a regional sourcing center within the Japan Research Center in February 2013, adding after the relocation, the Japan Research Center would further enhance the role of the sourcing center in order to strengthen cooperation with existing suppliers while seeking new partnerships, and to promote progress in the joint R&D of next-generation technologies to be incorporated into Huawei’s telecommunications devices and network products in the global marketplace.
"Partnership with best-of-class Japanese suppliers and universities has become an innovation and growth engine for our company and the telecommunications industry worldwide," said Yan Lida, President of Huawei Japan. "The expansion and relocation of our Japan Research Center will provide us with opportunities to pursue open collaboration more actively than ever, while accelerating the speed at which we are able to develop products to meet the needs of our customers in Japan. This will in turn enable more technologies and products developed in partnership with our Japanese suppliers to reach global markets. In this way, we will further invigorate Japan's ICT industry."
Vigilance learnt that as part of its plans for the future, Huawei Japan will continue to strive towards the positive development of the ICT industry as it contributes to a sound industry ecosystem in Japan through its work in the three functional areas of business operations, R&D, and procurement.
Huawei Japan was approved by the City of Yokohama for the Business Location Incentives program on July 17, 2013, for this relocation. Through this program, Huawei Japan will receive a subsidy equivalent to the amount of the corporate city tax for the period of 3 years.