Huawei Decides to Keep Factory Operations Amid New Coronavirus Outbreak

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Chinese telecommunications equipment company Huawei has decided to resume factory production on the 3rd despite the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia), CNBC and other media reported.

According to the reports, Huawei announced that it resumed production of products including consumer products and telecommunications equipment on that day. The Chinese government extended the Spring Festival holiday in major cities until the 9th and ordered a halt to operations to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. However, Huawei received special exemption approval as a "core industry" and resumed production. Huawei stated that most of the production resumption is taking place at factories located in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province.

In addition to Huawei, foreign media reported that Chinese memory semiconductor manufacturer YMTC, based in Wuhan City, has not yet stopped production. YMTC stated, "So far, YMTC's production is proceeding normally," adding that there are no confirmed infected cases among company employees and that various measures are being taken to safely protect executives and staff.

Chinese semiconductor foundry SMIC also continued production during the Spring Festival holiday. SMIC stated in a post on social networking services (SNS) that they organized work shifts to protect employees' safety, comply with government regulations, and simultaneously keep the factory operating. SMIC emphasized, "To meet customer needs, the factory must operate 365 days a year, 24 hours a day."

The fact that some Chinese companies, including Huawei, are continuing factory production is interpreted as an effort to minimize the economic impact. Earlier, market research firm Strategy Analytics (SA) predicted that if China's smartphone factories stop, shipments would decrease by 5% from previous estimates, negatively affecting the entire market.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.