In pictures: Huawei’s European city-inspired campus in China

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In pictures: Huawei’s European city-inspired campus in China

2019-02-16 12:06 Last Updated At：12:06

The tech giant’s new campus will eventually house around 25,000 staff.

Chinese technology giant Huawei has grown to become one the world’s most prominent forces in the tech industry, and close to its company headquarters building work is taking place that reflects that change in stature.

In Dongguan, close to the city of Shenzhen in southern China, the company has built a new campus – one designed to be almost solely for the firm’s research and development efforts.

This campus stands out because it is modelled on a number of European cities, taking architectural inspiration from cities and regions such as Grenada in Spain, Paris, Burgundy, Verona, and Bologna.

A sign perhaps of Huawei’s intent to be seen as a global company rather than just a Chinese one, the designs on show are taken from some of founder Ren Zhengfei’s favourite locations.

Such is the size of the campus that a miniature metro system is used by employees to move between the different buildings and “towns”.

Of 12 planned areas, eight are already open, with a space inspired by London also part of future plans.

The site currently holds around 20,000 people, but will eventually house 25,000 staff who are part of a research and development workforce that totals around 80,000.

It is an area of the company in which Huawei invests vast amounts of money – up to 15% of annual revenue goes into research and development – as it looks to unlock the next game-changing technology that could help it lead the industry.

The Dongguan campus is a manifestation of that, but its European setting inside China is also a reminder that the company continues to face questions from parts of the western world over its security and trustworthiness.

The company itself has argued that US hostilities towards Huawei are down to a mixture of geopolitical games to try and secure a better trade deal for the US in negotiations with China, and to try and slow Huawei’s rise as a tech giant, most notably in the area of 5G – a space US companies are not currently leading.

Bridges – and not just ones based on those from European cities – still need to be built.

Stock market today: Asian shares are mostly higher after another set of Wall St records

2024-03-29 17:16 Last Updated At：17:50

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares ended mostly higher in quiet, Good Friday holiday trading, while European and U.S. markets were closed.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% to 40,369.44 and the Kospi in Seoul was little changed, at 2,748.55. The Shanghai Composite index gained 1% to 3,041.17.

Taiwan's Taiex advanced 0.7%. In Bangkok, the SET added 0.5%.

India’s markets were closed for Holi.

The U.S. dollar slipped to 151.35 Japanese yen from 151.38 yen. The euro edged lower, to $1.0774 from $1.0790.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 added 0.1%, to its all-time high set a day before and closed at 5,254.35. It gained 10.2% in the first quarter.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 0.1% to 39,807.37 and likewise set a record. The Nasdaq composite dipped 0.1% to 16,379.46.

Chemours fell 9.1% despite reporting better results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It gave a forecast for earnings before taxes and other items in the current quarter that was below analysts’ expectations.

Also on the losing end was Trump Media & Technology Group. The company behind former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social fell 6.4% after soaring more than 14% in each of the past two days. Its stock has shot well beyond what critics say is reasonable for the money-losing company, driven by fans of Trump and investors hoping to cash in on the mania.

The U.S. stock market has been on a nearly unstoppable run since late October, and the S&P 500 just capped its fifth straight winning month. It has leaped as the U.S. economy has remained remarkably solid despite high interest rates meant to get inflation under control.

And with inflation hopefully still cooling from its peak, the Federal Reserve has indicated it will likely cut interest rates several times later this year.

The U.S. economy’s growth in the final three months of last year was stronger than earlier estimated and another report said fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, in the latest indications of resilience.

The hope on Wall Street is still that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting its main interest rate in June. Lower interest rates ease the pressure on the economy, while boosting prices for investments. But progress on bringing inflation down has become bumpier recently, with reports this year coming in hotter than expected.

Analysts said investors are ready to pounce on signs of a recovery in the housing market, with interest and mortgage rates expected to come down later this year.

U.S. benchmark crude oil gained $1.82 to $83.17 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday. Brent crude, the international standard, surged $1.59 to $87.00 per barrel. Trading was closed Friday for the Good Friday holiday.