Huawei has said that it would invest £1.3bn and create 500 jobs in the UK as part of talks between Ren Zhengfei, the founder of the Chinese handset maker, and British government officials.
The privately owned group said that it would make investments of £650m and spend another £650m on procurement. The additional investment – some of which will go to expanding an R&D centre in Ipswich, eastern England – tie into the group’s already announced plans to broaden its business in the UK. The company declined to break down the investment in more detail.
In March, Huawei said it would increase investment and add jobs in Europe given the region’s “strategic importance”, with plans announced last year to double the company’s workforce in the UK to 1,000 people in three years.