\tHuawei addressed accusations it had misrepresented its ownership structure and, due to the way trade unions in China operate, is effectively state-owned.<\/p>\n
In a press briefing, Jiang Xisheng, chief secretary of Huawei\u2019s board of directors, addressed a number of recent claims, but his attempt to add clarity to an extremely complicated corporate structure and any connections, either direct or indirect, to the central government seemed to raise even more questions.<\/p>\n
He began by reiterating Huawei is 100 per cent owned by a holding company, which is 99 per cent held by a trade union committee. Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei has about a 1 per cent interest. Jiang stated no government agency or outside organisation holds shares or has any control over the company.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no government capital in Huawei,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In a report published in mid-April, two US-based university professors questioned the company\u2019s long-standing claim it is wholly employee owned.<\/p>\n
Completely separate
\nJiang explained the company\u2019s trade union was established and operates in accordance with the country\u2019s laws, as does an employee shareholding scheme implemented through the body.<\/p>\n
The operations of the trade union and employee share programme are completely separate and independent from each other, he insisted.<\/p>\n
But, he later acknowledged in a Q&A there is a connection between Huawei\u2019s trade union committee (its governance organisation) and the government\u2019s trade union body.<\/p>\n
Adding to the confusion, the trade union also has a representatives\u2019 commission through which it \u201cfulfills shareholder responsibilities and exercises shareholder rights\u201d. It is the company\u2019s highest decision-making entity, electing members of the board of directors and supervisory board.<\/p>\n
The trade union\u2019s role, it seems, is not the same as those in western countries and is more of a rubber stamp on the commission\u2019s decisions.<\/p>\n
Founder veto
\nResponding to reports Ren has veto power which can override decisions made by directors of Huawei or its holding company, Jiang said that while the founder \u201ccan veto certain important matters, he has no authority to make decisions on important matters. He influences the company not by exercising his veto authority, but by communicating his ideas and sharing his philosophies\u201d.<\/p>\n
In mid-January Ren, in a rare media appearance, addressed growing scrutiny of Huawei’s security [1], declaring the company has never received a request from China\u2019s government to turn over a customer\u2019s data and is not required to maintain a backdoor in its equipment.<\/p>\n
The ownership briefing comes a day after the UK government cleared the vendor [2] to participate in parts of 5G rollouts.<\/p>\n[1] https:\/\/www.mobileworldlive.com\/featured-content\/home-banner\/huawei-founder-steps-into-security-storm\/
\n[2] https:\/\/www.mobileworldlive.com\/featured-content\/home-banner\/uk-gives-huawei-5g-nod\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Huawei addressed accusations it had misrepresented its ownership structure and, due to the way trade …<\/p>\n
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