Huawei sets up R&D center in Finland, invests 70 mn Euro

Huawei has announced its plans to set up a Reseach and Development (R&D) center in Helsinki, Finland with an investment of 70 million Euro over a five-year period. The Finnish R&D center will drive Huawei's research and development of new technologies for mobile devices. The company plans to focus on software development for smartphones, tablets and rich-media devices, optimizing the user experience of existing operating systems such as Android and Windows Phone 8, initially.

From the outset, Huawei plans to recruit 30 employees for the center, with the goal of hiring more than 100 employees over five years.

Kenneth Fredriksen, Vice-President, Huawei Central, Eastern and Nordic Europe said, "The open and innovative environment in Finland is an ideal place for Huawei to strengthen our global R&D capabilities for devices, creating opportunities for both Huawei and the Finnish telecommunications industry."

Over the past 10 years, Huawei has grown significantly in Europe, particularly due to the region's open economy and foreign investment initiatives, and is committed to further increase its investment in the region. In September 2012, Huawei announced a USD 2 billion investment in R&D, local procurement and center of excellence initiatives in the United Kingdom. Huawei currently employs more than 7,000 people across Europe.