Globe says business unaffected by supply contract with Huawei

Globe Telecom Inc. staged a press conference on the company’s 2018 financial results Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, with (left to right) CFO Rizza Maniego-Eala, chief commercial officer Albert de Larrazabal, president and CEO Ernest Cu, chief technology officer Gil Genio, and legal counsel Froilan Castelo.  Photo: Globe

Issues regarding Huawei have not had any significant impact on the business of Globe Telecom Inc., amid trade tensions between China and the United States, the Ayala-led company said Tuesday.

“So far, there’s been no impact. We have not received any communication from any of the local clients, US BPOs (business process outsourcing) or otherwise, or banks that have expressed concerns,” Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu said Tuesday.

He was asked whether business operations of the company are affected by the ongoing trade war between the world's biggest economies.

In servicing its subscribers’ needs, Globe utilizes Huawei equipment. According to Huawei, it is “a leading global provider of information and communications technology infrastructure and smart devices.”

China and the United States are locked in a tariffs dispute, with both sides aiming to impose billions of dollars of duties again each other’s exports—affecting markets worldwide.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin earlier said he, along with other US officials, are traveling to Beijing this week for trade talks in efforts to finalize a deal before the March 2 increases in US tariffs on Chinese goods.

“We do have some planning starting to happen as to how we can manage, but given the pervasiveness of Huawei equipment globally on different grounds, it’s going to be a challenging effort to sort of isolate,” said Cu.

“Our network goes through Huawei enterprises here in the Philippines. [But] what about the landing on the other side? It’s going to be very difficult, but it's something that we are into,” he said.

Aside from Huawei, Globe also utilizes Nokia equipment for its LTE network.

“Three or four years ago, we took in what was then Alcatel-Lucent to become the second LTE supplier for Globe. They have been acquired by Nokia,” Cu noted. —VDS, GMA News