Huawei, "US Sanctions Pressure Slows Revenue Growth in First Half"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Chinese telecommunications company Huawei announced that its revenue growth in the first half of the year was the lowest since the first half of 2013. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and U.S. sanctions, its market share in the international market continues to decline, and the slowdown in growth is expected to worsen in the future.

According to CNBC on the 13th (local time), Huawei reported that its revenue for the first half of this year reached 454 billion yuan (approximately 78.1561 trillion KRW), a 13.1% increase compared to the same period last year. This is the lowest first-half revenue growth since 2013. Huawei's revenue growth rate in the first half of last year was 23.2%, more than 10 percentage points higher than this year's first half.

The decline in overseas market share is attributed to U.S. government sanctions, including canceling bids from companies using equipment from Chinese telecommunications firms such as Huawei, and imposing semiconductor export bans on Huawei targeting global companies using U.S.-made equipment.

Despite opposition from the U.S., the UK, which had sought to procure 5th generation (5G) mobile communication equipment from Huawei, is showing signs of excluding Huawei from its 5G network business, raising concerns that the slowdown in revenue growth will worsen. According to foreign media such as The New York Times (NYT), UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a National Security Council (NSC) meeting on the day to discuss the exclusion of Huawei from the 5G network business and is expected to announce a phased exclusion plan the following day.