Chinese tech giant Huawei has significantly trimmed down its device business division in Bangladesh which was directly involved in monitoring its smartphone and other device businesses here, said insiders yesterday.
The development comes as one of the world’s biggest smartphone and telecommunications equipment makers faces challenges amid restrictions imposed by the Trump administration.
Yesterday was the last day of office for most officials of the device division of Huawei Dhaka as the tech company plans to monitor its device business in Bangladesh from Malaysia, said industry insiders here.
Smart Technologies, distributor of Huawei smartphones in Bangladesh, will now look after the sales, marketing and business of Huawei’s smartphone and other devices, said Md Anawar Hossain, the distributor’s channel sales manager.
The tech company reorganised direct monitoring of device business owing to factors including the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.
It is basically changing operation module, he said, adding that Smart Technologies, which had been handling sales and operations since November last year, would continue to do the device business as national distributor.
Huawei Dhaka office did not comment on the issue.
Huawei had significantly reduced the number of employees in its device division at the end of last year as its smartphone business suffered for a series of US rules that restricted the company from using American technologies, including Google services.
The US Department of Commerce said global chipmakers which had been using US technology now had to obtain a licence from the US government to work on designs for Huawei, reported BBC last month.
And from September 15, the company could no longer buy key chips from its manufacturers, reported BBC on September 23.
Huawei says it had to rush to stockpile chips ahead of the latest tightening of trade restrictions from Washington, which has hit its supply hard, said the BBC.
The restrictions also affected sales of Huawei smartphones here, partly for consumers’ falling appetite for Huawei smartphones and an increasing number of smartphone assembling facilities here including of global brands such as Samsung, said industry stakeholders.
A top industry operator seeking to remain unnamed said Huawei became one of the top three smartphone brands in high-end segment within a short time after it had launched its devices in Bangladesh.
It lost significant market share over the past year suffering issues in accessing Google services and for entry of competitors in the market, he said.
