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Huawei to Open Its Largest Oversea Flagship Store in Riyadh

January 16, 2021 0:09 am

Beijing (PingWest)- Chinese telecommunication and smartphone giant Huawei plans to establish a flagship store in Riyadh, which will be the largest store outside China, the Saudi government said on Friday.

Under the leasing contract signed with Saudi Arabia’s Kaden Investment, Huawei will get direct access to consumers in the region and fulfill their rising demand for digital products and services, but the government didn’t reveal the specific date for the opening.

In 2017, 73.2% of the total population in the kingdom had access to the internet, but the internet usage will increase to 82.6% of the total population in 2020, the Ministry of Investment statement said.

In October 2020, The Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence (SDAIA) has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with Huawei with regard to artificial intelligence and its applications in smart city tech.

Some telecommunication companies in the Gulf countries, including Zain’s Saudi unit Zain KSA, have inked deals with Huawei for application of the Chinese company’s 5G technology.

Huawei’s move come against the backdrop that the company has been facing setbacks in the overseas market amid the sanctions imposed by the U.S government. Huawei’s domestic rival Xiaomi , VIVO and OPPO has filled filed the market share left by Huawei,

Xiaomi’s global smartphone shipments grew 45% year-on-year to CNY47.1 million in the third quarter of 2020 while Huawei dropped 23% year-on-year to 51.7 million.

Most recently, Huawei sold its budget smartphone business “Honor” to a Chinese company.

In an interview with stated-owned news agency China News Service, Xiaomi’s founder and CEO Leijun said his company aims to become the No.1 smartphone brand in Europe in the next few years, surpassing domestic rival Huawei.