Huawei bets big on Europe with new Finnish digs

Huawei plans five year investment for European dominance
5 years, €70 million - what would you do?

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei has announced that it plans to build a new R&D centre in Finland as it looks to strengthen its commitment to Europe.

The firm has big aspirations, aiming to become one of the top three smartphone manufacturers in the world, and its €70 million (£56 million) investment for a new, much chillier facility is certainly a clear statement of intent.

Set to be located in Helsinki, Finland the R&D centre will see Huawei focus initially on both smartphones and tablets running on the Android and Windows Phone 8 platforms.

5 year plan

That €70 million isn't going to be splashed all at once though, as Huawei is going to take five years establishing the new R&D base which will eventually employee around 100 people.

Huawei is yet to really take the world by storm, with no significant stand out product to speak of just yet, but the budget focussed Ascend G300 and Ascend G330 have impressed us.

Rumour has it the firm is planning some big things for 2013, and TechRadar will be keeping an eye out for any new announcements at CES 2013 and MWC 2013.

John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.