Huawei Opens New Headquarters in Canada; Deepens Commitment to North America through Strong Local Presence

The establishment of our headquarters in Markham underscores our long-term investment in the Canadian market, and on a broader scale signifies Huawei's continued growth in North America, said Charles Ding, President of Huawei North America. With this new facility, we will be able to expand our highly competitive offerings and support capabilities to our key customers in Canada.



To date, Huawei has created more than 250 jobs in Canada, approximately 70 percent of which are based in Markham, Ontario. Over the next two years, Huawei is expected to add 280 new jobs in Canada, several hundred of which will continue to be located in the Markham area.



Our government is excited to partner with Huawei on their most recent expansion into Ontario, said Minister of Economic Development and Trade Sandra Pupatello. The fact that this company chose to set up their Canadian headquarters in Markham and their R&D Centre of Excellence in Ottawa speaks to the confidence Huawei has in Ontario's skilled workforce and competitive business environment.



As the company is committed to nurturing the human talent and economic strengths of the thriving Canadian technology resources, Huawei will continue to focus on strategic executive hires both in Canada and more widely across North America. Most recently, the company appointed Sean Yang to the position of President of Huawei Canada. Effective immediately, Yang will play a key role in expanding Huawei's sales/R&D/presence in the growing Canadian market. This appointment further signifies Huawei's commitment to continue to deliver innovative and customer-centric products and solutions to North America.



Huawei's vision, scale and technology innovation is playing a major role in shaping the future of telecommunications in Canada, said Bernard Lord, President and CEO of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association. As well, I congratulate Huawei for its ongoing commitment to further strengthening the wireless industry's contribution to the Canadian economy.



Huawei will continue to focus on customer centric-innovation in Canada's thriving technology landscape. In April 2010, Huawei opened its first Canadian R&D center in Ottawa, Ontario. The R&D Center currently has more than 70 employees, and is concentrated on several strategic product initiatives in the Wireline, Wireless, Optical, and IP networking sectors. Huawei also recently received a $6.5 million grant from the Ontario government to invest in the Huawei Ottawa R&D center, and will invest $67 million in R&D in Canada over the next five years.



I am pleased to be here today to celebrate the inauguration of Huawei's new and expanded facilities in Markham, says Minister of Tourism and Culture Michael Chan. This milestone highlights both Huawei's success as a global provider of innovative telecom solutions, as well as Ontario's commitment to attracting investment's across industries to build a stronger economy.



In addition to increasing local job growth and driving technology innovation, Huawei will continue to leverage strategic partnerships in Canada. Huawei signed agreements with both Canadian telecommunications companies, TELUS and Bell Canada, to create and maintain joint innovation centers, and also has existing partnerships with Carleton University and University of Ottawa. As a company that is passionate about making a local impact, Huawei is strongly committed to making meaningful contributions to local communities, including valuable donations to Comic Vision benefiting the Foundation Fighting Blindness and sponsorship of the Bell SENSational Ride & Glide benefiting the SENS Foundation.



Since opening its first Canadian office in 2008, Huawei has established two branch offices and one R&D center in Canada. With a successful track record in North America since 2001, Huawei currently has 14 offices and 9 R&D centers throughout the region. The company's products and solutions are deployed in over 100 countries and serve over two billion users worldwide.