Huawei opens 1st overseas training center in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR - Chinese multinational networking and telecommunications equipment supplier, Huawei Technologies on Thursday opened its first overseas training center in Malaysia's technology hub Cyberjaya as part of its nearly $30 million project to build talents in the information technology sector.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak called the launch of the training center a "momentous occasion" and said Huawei's initiative helps drive Malaysia's economic growth to reach the goal of building itself into a fully developed nation with a per capita income of $15,000 by 2020.

"Huawei was one of the firms who stepped forward to help the government in this regard... it is expected to contribute to 1.2 billion ringgit ($377 million) in (Malaysia's) Gross National Income by 2020" Najib spoke as he graced the launch ceremony.

Chinese ambassador to Malaysia Chai Xi also attended the ceremony.

The center's opening came after Huawei signed an agreement last April with 10 Malaysian universities, including the University of Science Malaysia and the Malaysian University of Technology to have similar training labs set up on their campuses.

The Shenzhen-based firm plans to help train 10,000 Malaysian professionals in the information and communications technology field over the next four years.

"The training centers serve not only the Malaysian and Asian market but also the world. We are optimistic about the Malaysian telecommunications market growth because it is healthy and competitive. We believe our investment here would be sustained," Huawei Asia Pacific region vice-president Victor Wang told Xinhua after the launch.

He said the training center is located in Malaysia as the country has vast potential in expanding its telecommunications technology and students here tend to share common language with the Chinese.

Huawei, one of China's largest multinational companies, recorded an 11.7 percent growth in sales revenue of $32.3 billion and a $1.83 billion in net profit last year.

The firm sells a diverse range of products from network infrastructure, wireless communication and cloud computing solutions to smartphones and tablets.

It has operations in over 140 countries, supplying its products to almost a-third of the world's population.