Never mind the Brexit: Huawei still keen on the UK

Huawei no Brexit
Huawei’s offices in the Green Park district of Reading, Berkshire. Image credit: BasPhoto / Shutterstock.com

LONDON (Reuters) – Chinese telecoms company Huawei’s enthusiasm for Britain as a place to do research and business despite Brexit is unaffected by the country’s inconclusive national election, it said on Tuesday.

The loss of Prime Minister Theresa May’s majority in last week’s election has increased political uncertainty ahead of negotiations on Britain’s exit from the European Union, but Huawei’s deputy chairman and rotating chief executive said the company remained committed to the UK.

“We haven’t changed our strategies in the UK because of the change in UK administration,” Huawei’s Ken Hu told reporters via an interpreter at the company’s European Innovation Day in London. “We have enhanced our investment in the UK all along.”

Hu, who signed an agreement on Tuesday to set up a joint research laboratory at Edinburgh University, said Britain was an important research centre for Huawei’s European and global operations.

“We have good confidence in the UK as a good destination for investment,” he said.

Huawei, which makes telecoms networking equipment and handsets, has been active in Britain for 16 years and last year reported net profit of a little more than $5 billion.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by David Goodman)

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