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Huawei reports huge drop in profits as US sanctions bite

Huawei’s net profit fell almost 69% last year to 35.6 billion yuan ($5.2 billion), due to US sanctions and international economic uncertainty, according to the company.

The CFO described the results as a “low point” in the company’s history but said the company was moving “back to business as usual” despite US restrictions becoming its “new normal”.

Huawei has moved to diversify its revenue streams, focusing on consumer tech such as smartwatches and boosting its footprint in the auto sector as a supplier.

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SHENZHEN, CHINA — Huawei’s profits fell almost 69 per cent last year, the company said Friday, as US sanctions and international economic uncertainty bit into the Chinese tech giant’s earnings.

The company generated 35.6 billion yuan ($5.2 billion) in net profit in 2022, it said, down 68.7 per cent from a record 113.7 billion last year.

“In 2022, a challenging external environment and non-market factors continued to take a toll on Huawei’s operations,” the company’s rotating chairman Eric Xu said at an annual report press conference.

“In the midst of this storm, we kept racing ahead, doing everything in our power to maintain business continuity and serve our customers,” he said.

“We also went to great lengths to grow the harvest –- generating a steady stream of revenue to sustain our survival and lay the groundwork for future development.”

Speaking on the fall in profits, company CFO Meng Wanzhou, daughter of billionaire CEO and founder Ren Zhengfei, described the results as a “low point in Huawei’s history.”

“US restrictions are our new normal,” she said, adding that the company was moving “back to business as usual.”

“In times of pressure, we press on –- with confidence.”

Blocked in major markets

A leading supplier of telecom gear, smartphones and other advanced equipment, a US-led pressure campaign in recent years has taken a major chunk out of Huawei’s businesses.

Its 5G gear has been blocked in major markets including the United States, Britain and Japan over security concerns.

Huawei has denied allegations that its equipment carries risks of sabotage and spying.

Once the world’s top smartphone maker, the company has seen sales slump after the United States cut off access to key parts and barred it from using Google’s Android operating system.

Huawei has moved to diversify revenue streams in the face of that pressure, moving into the cloud computing sector with an aim to invest in data centres around the world.

It has also focused on offering consumer tech such as smartwatches in addition to phones, as well as boosting its footprint in the auto sector as a supplier.

The company did not provide details about its net profit or a breakdown of figures from its various divisions.

Huawei is not publicly listed and its accounts are not subject to the same audits as companies traded on the stock market.

— AFP

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AFP

Singapore hangs 14th drug convict since last year

Singapore executed Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, convicted of drug trafficking, amid a resumption of executions in 2022. Another woman prisoner, Saridewi Djamani, faces execution.

Amnesty International urged Singapore to halt the executions, questioning the deterrent effect of the death penalty.

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1 year ago

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26 July 2023

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SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE — Singapore on Wednesday hanged a local man convicted of drug trafficking, officials said, two days before the scheduled execution of the first woman prisoner in the city-state in nearly 20 years.

Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, convicted and sentenced to death in 2017 for trafficking “not less than 49.98 grams” (1.76 ounces) of heroin, was executed at Changi Prison, the Central Narcotics Bureau said in a statement.

The 57-year-old was the 14th convict sent to the gallows since the government resumed executions in March 2022 after a two-year pause during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hussain’s previous appeals against his conviction and sentence had been dismissed, and a petition for presidential clemency was also denied.

A woman drug convict, 45-year-old Saridewi Djamani, is scheduled to be hanged on Friday, according to the local rights group Transformative Justice Collective (TJC).

She was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking around 30 grams of heroin.

If carried out, Djamani would be the first woman executed in Singapore since 2004, when 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen was hanged for drug trafficking, according to TJC activist Kokila Annamalai.

Singapore has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws — trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis or over 15 grams of heroin can result in the death penalty.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Singapore to halt the executions, saying there was no evidence the death penalty acted as a deterrent to crime.

“It is unconscionable that authorities in Singapore continue to cruelly pursue more executions in the name of drug control,” Amnesty death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio said in a statement.

Singapore, however, insists that the death penalty has helped make it one of Asia’s safest countries.

Among those hanged since last year was Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, whose execution sparked a global outcry, including from the United Nations and British tycoon Richard Branson, because he was deemed to have a mental disability.

— AFP

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AFP

Singapore to execute first woman in nearly 20 years: rights groups

Singapore set to execute two drug convicts, including first woman in 20 years, despite rights groups’ calls to stop.

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1 year ago

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25 July 2023

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SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE — Singapore is set to hang two drug convicts this week, including the first woman to be sent to the gallows in nearly 20 years, rights groups said Tuesday, while urging the executions be halted.

Local rights organisation Transformative Justice Collective (TJC) said a 56-year-old man convicted of trafficking 50 grams (1.76 ounces) of heroin is scheduled to be hanged on Wednesday at the Southeast Asian city-state’s Changi Prison.

A 45-year-old woman convict who TJC identified as Saridewi Djamani is also set to be sent to the gallows on Friday. She was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking around 30 grams of heroin.

If carried out, she would be the first woman to be executed in Singapore since 2004 when 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen was hanged for drug trafficking, said TJC activist Kokila Annamalai.

TJC said the two prisoners are Singaporeans and their families have received notices setting the dates of their executions.

Prison officials have not answered emailed questions from AFP seeking confirmation.

Singapore imposes the death penalty for certain crimes, including murder and some forms of kidnapping.

It also has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws: trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis and 15 grams of heroin can result in the death penalty.

At least 13 people have been hanged so far since the government resumed executions following a two-year hiatus in place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Singapore to halt the impending executions.

“It is unconscionable that authorities in Singapore continue to cruelly pursue more executions in the name of drug control,” Amnesty’s death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio said in a statement.

“There is no evidence that the death penalty has a unique deterrent effect or that it has any impact on the use and availability of drugs.

“As countries around the world do away with the death penalty and embrace drug policy reform, Singapore’s authorities are doing neither,” Sangiorgio added.

Singapore insists that the death penalty is an effective crime deterrent.

— AFP

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