Huawie to set up regional headquarters in Pakistan

Jul 17: Vice President of Huawei Group Mark Xueman Wednesday said his company would set up a regional headquarters in Islamabad at a cost of $55 million, which would create job opportunities for local young engineers.

The leading Chinese mobile phone company would invest total $100 million in Pakistan during the current year, he said while talking to Minister for Planning and Development Makhdum Khsuro Bakhtyar, on whom he called on along with his delegation here at his office.

Secretary Planning Zafar Hasan, CPEC Project Director Hassan Daud and senior officials of the ministry were also present in the meeting.

Mark Xueman said Huawei would also invest $15 million more in its Technical Support Centre in Pakistan and hire more work force for the same taking the number of its staff from 600 to 800 during the year.

He said the company was eager to initiate more projects in Pakistan on grant funding from the Chinese government.

Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar, while appreciating Huawei’s continued engagement in Pakistan, said the leading technological company could support in developing and upgrading the information technology (IT) sector of the country.

He said Huawei had 25% share in Pakistan's mobile industry and was also the top taxing paying Chinese company in the country.

The minister appreciated Huawei’s engagement with the Higher Education Commission for its smart schools project with the latest information and communications technology equipment.

He stressed on exploring new business models for future projects and joint ventures in Pakistan. Huawei could contribute to the government’s e-governance initiative as well in centralizing data to improve efficiency and productivity.

The minister opined that Huawei could support IT start-up projects in Pakistan to benefit the youth in the important sector. He assured of the ministry’s all possible cooperation in future joint ventures.

APP