Huawei Injects $100M Into Asia Pacific Startups as Fear of Beijing Influence Grows

An employee stands inside a Huawei flagship store in Beijing, on April 12, 2021. Andy Wong/AP Photo

There are concerns over Beijing growing influence in the Asia-Pacific after China-based technology and telecommunications giant Huawei announced it would be investing US$100 million (AUS $136 million) into building up its portfolio of startups in the Asia Pacific.

Huawei Cloud’s Spark Program—which aims to sign up 1,000 startup businesses in the region—has expanded its reach to encompass Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam after already establishing startup hubs across Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Thailand.