As many companies are reporting losses and planning job slashes, a China-based telecommunication-equipment supplier makes an exception in the Philippine market as well as in other parts of the world.

Huawei Technologies Philippines, Inc. posted a growth of 55 percent in its sales volume in 2008, from 150 million U.S. dollars in the previous year.

"We are expecting a further growth of around 50 percent this year," said Mr. Yang Hua, president of the company, in a recent interview with Xinhua.

A latest International Monetary Fund report projected that the global growth will fall to 0.5 percent in 2009, its lowest rate since World War II. The figure for 2008 is 3.4 percent down from the previous year's 5.2 percent.

However, it seems that Huawei is able to escape the law of gravity. For Huawei Technologies Co. LTD., Huawei Philippines's parent company, the sales volume reached 23.3 billion dollars in 2008, or 46 percent higher than the previous year's figure. The parent company estimates that the sales volume will rise to 30 billion dollar this year.

Starting its presence here in 1999, the company has become a leading equipment supplier during less than ten years in the telecommunications market of the Philippines.

"We have established partnership with almost all the major local players, including DIGITEL, PLDT/Smart, Globe and Bayan Telecommunications," said Yang confidently. "At present, Huawei equipment in the local market can simultaneously provide service for more than 20 million users," he added.

However, the executive admitted that his company had also experienced setbacks before becoming popular.

"At the very beginning, local telecommunications operators were unfamiliar with the Huawei brand, and you know, it takes time to build up trust between strangers, especially when it comes to long-term partnership," Yang said.

Talking about Huawei's competitive edge, Yang would emphasize the company's "integrated competency" rather than pick any single tactic.

"To be competitive, you have to help cut your partner's total cost of ownership (TCO), but not rely on low prices of your products," he said. TCO is a financial estimate designed for consumers and enterprise managers to assess direct and indirect costs.

"Only with the integrated competency, can one supplier win the trust and respect from the operators," he added. Currently, the Huawei group serves 35 of the top 50 telecommunications operators all over the world.

For a high-tech enterprise, research and development is undoubtedly of vital importance to sustain its healthy growth.

Yang told Xinhua that the Huawei group puts 10 percent of its revenue every year into research and development. The company boasts of its 14 research and development institutes and 29 training centers, besides over 100 branches in different parts of the world.

The branches are located in different places instead of being confined to China, where Huawei is based, so that the company can better understand and serve its clients, Yang said.

"Globalization, or localization globally, is our determined strategy for the future of the company," he added. Among the group's global contract sales, 75 percent comes from overseas markets in 2008.

"In the Philippines, we have more than 300 local employees, over 85 percent of the staff here," said the executive, adding that the company are planning to hire more Filipinos as the company continues to grow.

Source: Xinhua