Huawei CFO faces hearing
The Canadian government, as expected, said yesterday it would allow an extradition hearing to proceed against the chief financial officer of Huawei, who was detained in Canada late last year.
Meng Wanzhou, currently under house arrest, will appear in a Vancouver court on Wednesday to set the date of the hearing. Ms Meng and Huawei face charges of conspiring to violate US sanctions on Iran.
The decision is likely to sour Canada’s already poor relations with China, which is demanding that Ms Meng be released. After her detention, China arrested two Canadians on national security grounds, and a Chinese court later sentenced to death a Canadian man who previously had only been jailed for drug smuggling.
Meanwhile, the Chinese tech company is set to reward employee shareholders with a 3% rise in cash dividends. The move, worth billions of dollars, is expected to boost morale as it battles a US drive against its devices.
The payout also appears to indicate profit growth as well as confidence that the company can survive US accusations that its telecoms network equipment may enable espionage by the Chinese government, said analysts.
Known for its so-called ‘wolf culture’ that demands high levels of dedication from employees in return for high pay, Huawei Technologies boasts that 80,000 of its workers own nearly all of the company’s shares —unique for a firm of its size.
