Apple battle takes toll on Chinese giant Huawei

Huawei Technologies earnings have grown at their slowest pace in five years, as China’s biggest maker of telecommunications gear sank money into research and a marketing blitz to gain ground on Apple and Samsung in smartphones.

Huawei, founded by former army engineer Ren Zhengfei three decades ago, has emerged as one of China’s most recognisable consumer brands. A relatively new entrant in mobile devices, it has rapidly grabbed market share from Apple and Samsung with premium phones and is now ranked third globally. However, that expansion comes at a cost, as the company boosts spending to keep up.

Its main business of networking equipment is also slowing as phone carriers rein in network rollouts and prepare for the advent of faster 5G standards. And smartphone competition at home from the likes of Oppo is intensifying.