Huawei Wants An ASX Listing, Just Not Now

　　China's Huawei Technologies won't list on the AustralianSecurities Exchange until 2017 at the earliest, if at all, as it seeksto convince Australian authorities that it's run transparently andnot an arm of the Chinese state.

　　An Australian listing is a five-to-10 year aspiration of Huawei'slocal board, and no concrete plans have been made, a personfamiliar with the matter told Deal Journal Australia.

　　Huawei is the world's largest telecom equipment vendor after Sweden's Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson , but is hitting road bumps as it expands overseas because the supply of telecommunicationstechnology is a sensitive issue for governments. Huawei was founded by Ren Zhengfei, a formerofficer of the People's Liberation Army in China, who still runs the company as chief executive.

　　Late last year, the U.S. Congress launched an investigation into whether Huawei and other Chinesetelecommunications companies pose a potential national-security threat as they expand in the U.S. The probe aimed to examine how Chinese companies are supplying components of U.S. telecommunications systems and the security threats that activity may pose. It also aimed to lookat the intelligence-collection capabilities that access to U.S. systems would provide a foreigngovernment.

　　U.S. officials worried the Chinese government could access that equipment and track phone callsor emails, or disrupt or destroy a communications system.

　　Australia also has big concerns, despite Huawei's efforts at building bridges. In June 2011, theShenzhen-based company announced the creation of an Australian board,which included formerLeader of the Opposition Alexander Downer and former Premier of Victoria John Brumby.

　　But the firm was deemed unsuitable to bid to work on the country's US$36 billion nationalbroadband network, or NBN, despite its role on similar projects in countries including New Zealand, Singapore, and the U.K. The NBN aims to connect 93% of Australia's homes and businesses withoptical fiber so they can have high-speed access to the Internet.

　　Global concerns about cyber security are rising in the wake of high-profile attacks on governmentand corporate IT systems.

　　Last year, Australian media reported that computers used by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, thenforeign minister Kevin Rudd and several other government ministers were hacked, allegedly byChinese intelligence services. The government declined to comment on the reports at the time.

　　Huawei is wholly owned by around 65,000 Chinese employees. More than 75,000 other employeeslocated in 140 countries are currently unable to invest in the company due to Chinese corporatelaws, which restrict overseas shareholdings.

　　On a visit Down Under last month, Mr. Ren said the company would reinvest its Australian profits inAustralia as part of its localization strategy. In March, the Chinese company lifted its commitment tothe Australian market through a 1.7 million Australian dollar (US$1.8 million) sponsorship of theCanberra Raiders, a National Rugby League team.

　　Huawei's Australian unit reported revenue of A$229 million in 2011, a 34% increase from 2010.

　　中国华为技术有限公司(Huawei Technologies)即使会在澳大利亚证券交易所(Australian SecuritiesExchange)上市，最早也要到2017年才会成行。目前，华为正在争取说服澳大利亚当局，让其相信自己的运营是透明的，且不是中国政府下属的一个机构。

　　一位知情人士对《华尔街日报》Deal Journal Australia栏目说，在澳大利亚上市是华为澳大利亚子公司董事会未来5至10年的目标，目前尚未制定具体计划。

　　华为是仅次于瑞典爱立信(Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson)的世界第二大电信设备提供商，但由于电信技术的供应对各国政府来说是一个敏感问题，华为的海外扩张之旅目前并不顺利。华为由曾是中国人民解放军军官的任正非创办，目前他仍担任该公司首席执行长。

　　去年底，美国国会发起了一项调查，希望搞清楚华为及其他中国电信设备公司在美国扩张业务的同时，是否会给美国的国家安全带来潜在的威胁。调查旨在查明中国公司是如何向美国电信系统提供零部件的，以及这类活动可能给美国国家安全带来的威胁。调查还旨在查明得以进入美国的电信系统将可能为外国政府提供的情报收集能力。

　　美国官员担心中国政府可能会进入应用于美国电信系统的设备，跟踪电话或电子邮件，或干扰、破坏通讯系统。

　　澳大利亚对华为也很担心，尽管华为努力在当地构筑人脉关系。2011年6月，这家总部位于深圳的公司宣布设立澳大利亚子公司董事会，其成员包括前反对党领袖唐纳(Alexander Downer)和维多利亚州前州长布伦比(John Brumby)。

　　不过，该公司被认为不适合竞标参与澳大利亚规模360亿美元的全国宽带网络项目，尽管华为曾参与新西兰、新加坡和英国等国家的类似项目。澳大利亚全国宽带网络项目旨在将该国93%的家庭和企业用光缆连接起来，为其提供高速上网服务。

　　在政府和公司IT系统遭受了备受关注的攻击后，全球对网络安全的担忧也开始上升。

　　去年，澳大利亚媒体报道说，总理吉拉德(Julia Gillard)、时任外交部长的陆克文(Kevin Rudd)和其他多名政府部长使用的电脑遭到黑客攻击，攻击被指来自中国情报部门。澳大利亚政府当时拒绝就报道置评。

　　华为由其约6.5万名中国员工全资所有。由于中国的公司法限制海外投资者持股，华为在其他140个国家的逾7.5万名员工目前不能投资该公司。

　　上个月访问澳大利亚期间，任正非说，作为华为本地化战略的一部分，该公司将把在澳大利亚获得的利润重新投资澳大利亚。今年3月，华为斥资170万澳元（约合180万美元）赞助澳大利亚橄榄球联赛(National Rugby League)球队堪培拉奇袭队(Canberra Raiders)，此举向外界展示了它致力于开拓澳大利亚市场的雄心。

　　华为澳大利亚子公司2011年实现收入2.29亿澳元，同比增长34%。