Huawei Technologies, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment supplier, said on Thursday its annual research and development (R&D) spending will be increased to between US$15 billion and US$20 billion, as the company races to become a global leader in 5G technology.
Shenzhen-based Huawei, which previously pledged an annual R&D budget of US$10 billion to US$20 billion, spent 89.7 billion yuan (US$13.2 billion) on this operation last year, accounting for 14.9 per cent of its total revenue.
The company will dedicate 20 to 30 per cent of that updated R&D budget to basic science research, up from its previous expectation of 10 per cent, according to its statement.
The privately held firm, which is also the biggest smartphone supplier in China, is among the world’s top R&D spenders. Amazon.com and Alphabet, the two biggest spenders on R&D in the United States, invested US$22.6 billion and US$16.6 billion, respectively, in 2017, according to financial data company Factset.
About 80,000 of Huawei’s employees, or 45 per cent of its total workforce, are engaged in R&D, the company said on its website.