Huawei to invest $800M in Brazil facility

Sao Paulo - New factory is likely to produce smartphones; production would be for domestic and foreign markets

Huawei Technologies plans to build an $800 million plant in Brazil's Sao Paulo state over the next three years, the governor said, as the Chinese tech giant ramps up its Latin American presence against US objections.
On a trip to China, Sao Paulo Governor João Doria, accompanied by Huawei executives, said the company was gearing up to build the plant to meet expected demand following Brazil's first 5G spectrum auction, scheduled for March 2020.
The new factory is likely to produce smartphones, the company told Reuters in an e-mail.
"Depending on the performance of the smartphone operation in the local market, Huawei will consider building a plant in Sao Paulo in the near future," it said in a statement.
Production would be for domestic and foreign markets, according to the Sao Paulo government.
Huawei, which has been operating in Brazil for 21 years, already has one factory producing equipment for telecoms infrastructure in Sao Paulo state, with 2,000 employees.
The location of the new plant, which according to Doria will employ 1,000 people, will be decided in the coming months and the $800 million will be invested over a three-year period following the upcoming 5G auction.
In April, Reuters reported that the Chinese company was making a second attempt at cracking the Brazilian smartphone market with the launch of two high-end handsets and local hires to manage the business.
Huawei, the world's third-largest smartphone manufacturer, imports handsets from China for the Brazilian market and has mulled local production.
US President Donald Trump has urged governments worldwide to shun Huawei, arguing its equipment could be vulnerable to Chinese eavesdropping.
So far, few have heeded the warnings, but limitations in the US market have pressured Huawei to strengthen its footing elsewhere.
Trump raised the Huawei issue during a visit by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to the White House in March. But Vice-President Hamilton Mourão said in June that Brazil had no plans to bar Huawei from its 5G network.
US diplomats did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sweden's Ericsson and Finland's Nokia also have factories in Sao Paulo state and are racing to lead 5G deployment in Brazil.
Ericsson and Nokia have not responded to a request for comment on Huawei's push into region.