In a twist, Ericsson stands up for Huawei in its home country of Sweden
Sweden, like the US, is one of several countries around the world that have decided to ban the use of Huawei’s telecommunications equipment. Given that there aren’t that many companies that offer up this type of technology, it leaves the market open for companies like Ericsson.
It sounds like a dream come true where a competitor has been crippled and could potentially lose a big chunk of its market share, right? Interestingly enough, Ericsson doesn’t seem to think so. According to a report from Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, it seems that Ericsson’s CEO Borje Ekholm is threatening to pull out of the company’s home country of Sweden if they do not reverse the ban on Huawei.
Ekholm is said to have sent a series of text messages to Swedish Foreign Trade Minister Anna Hallberg, asking to review the order on the ban and potentially reverse it. Ericsson’s decision doesn’t seem to be completely altruistic though.
This is because there have been reports that China could retaliate against the ban by banning Ericsson. This could cost Ericsson dearly as China alone accounts for 10% of Ericsson’s sales. Even Ericson’s deputy chairman, Jacon Wallenberg, said in a previous interview that banning Huawei would not be good.
It remains to be seen if Ericsson will seriously go through with its decision to leave Sweden should push come to shove, but it’s an interesting twist.
Source: Soya Cincau