Huawei: Strength in Separation? 华为：大胆尝试“本土化管理”

By newsdoug on April 5, 2011

There’s some mildly interesting news coming from telecoms equipment giant Huawei, which Chinese media say is setting up an independent board of directors for its Australian business to be peopled mostly by local Australians. (Chinese report) Given that Australia is probably the only major international market where neither Huawei or crosstown rival ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) is in trouble these days, this looks like an intriguing — if unconventional — strategy. After all, putting locals in charge of your business could downplay local fears of a Chinese invasion, and get more local lobbying power behind the company in cracking tough markets like the US. Never mind that I’ve never heard of another company setting up an entire independent board of directors for a single offshore market. If nothing else, you have to give credit to Huawei for being creative. Who knows: if this approach seems to work in Australia, I’m sure you’ll see them trying it soon in Europe and the US.

Bottom line: Huawei’s new approach to Australia shows its commitment to becoming a true global player, which is bound to bear fruit in the next year or two.

华为周一发表声明称，今年将设立独立的澳大利亚董事会，成员多为由澳大利亚公民，负责管理华为在该市场的业务。澳大利亚也许是华为及其本国竞争对手中兴<0763.HK><000063.SZ>仅有的发展比较顺利的国际市场。华为此举意味深长。毕竟，让本地人管理业务有助於化解当地市场对华为”入侵”的担忧，并且获得更多的本土游说力量。虽然我从未听说过任何其他公司为单一海外市场设立完全独立的董事会，但你不能不佩服华为的创意。谁知道了，如果这一战术在澳大利亚能够奏效，也许华为下一步就将在美国和欧洲市场推广开来。

一句话：华为在澳大利亚推出的新战术显示了它把自己打造为真正的国际化企业的决心，在未来一两年内应该获得成果。