HONG KONG: China's top telecommunications equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd remains keen on US acquisitions even after its failed 3Leaf deal, and sees the United States as a key market for purchasing patents, its vice president said on Friday.
Huawei, which competes with Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks and Chinese rival ZTE Corp, met with regulatory obstacles after it agreed to buy certain 3Leaf assets for $2 million last May.
In February, it said it would back away from its acquisition of the US Server technology company's assets after the US government raised concerns over national security.
"The 3Leaf case doesn't mean that we'll give up on US acquisitions," Liuping Song, Huawei's vice-president and chief legal officer, told Reuters in a telephone interview.
Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, which garnered sales of $28 billion last year, has had some tough times in its acquisition deals in the United States.
In 2008, it dropped a bid for 3Com due to security issues, and in 2010, a group of US Republican lawmakers raised national security concerns about its bid to supply mobile telecommunications equipment to Sprint Nextel Corp.
"We've encountered a bit of a problem, but we're adopting an open, transparent attitude towards this," said Song, who joined Huawei in 1997. "We are communicating to relevant US departments and we hope to get their understanding."
The ride has not been smooth for some Chinese telecom equipment companies that are broadening their footprints overseas.
This week, ZTE said Swedish cell phone brand Ericsson had filed a patent infringement lawsuit against it in Britain, with an intention to also file against the Chinese company in Italy and Germany.
"Disputes over intellectual property are a normal way for global companies to settle certain problems. Therefore, regardless of whether it is a Chinese, US or European company, it's a common problem that companies face. This is not a problem that is unique to China."
Despite problems in US acquisitions, Huawei has had some success on the intellectual property front.
This week, Motorola Solutions Inc said it had settled a legal dispute over trade secrets with Huawei, clearing the way for Motorla to complete the sale of one of its business units to Nokia.
Song said US technology, and from Europe, remained key to Huawei's development.
The company planned to spend about $220 million this year on patent licensing, roughly level with last year's figure, he said.
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