Chinese company Huawei, which did not make the Indian government’s list of trusted sources for the supply of telecom equipment, said on Tuesday it was closely monitoring the political environment here as the market presented a huge growth opportunity.
“Huawei has always had a long-term strategy for India…which means we understand that sometimes the situation changes, but our strategy remains the same,” said Jay Chen, vice president of Asia Pacific, Huawei during a media session at the sideshow of the Mobile World Congress.
He added that Huawei still has faith in the Indian market as it has huge needs and space for further growth and development. “The Indian market is very large, not only for Huawei but also for other players. This market has enormous potential and room to grow.
“We are monitoring the Indian market very closely in terms of politics, the current environment and developments in the industry,” added Mr. Chen, who previously led the Indian market for Huawei.
When asked about the company’s plan to invest in the Indian market as part of its Spark program announced last year, Mr. Chen replied, “This year the program will go to more countries in the region, and of course India under this one program falling… we hope to get more applications from startups from India.”
Under the program, Huawei plans to invest US$100 million over three years in the Asia-Pacific startup ecosystem.
He added that the company is also focusing on developing ICT skills in India so that the company can contribute in terms of talent
