Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei have stated that they intend to invest £1.2 billion within the UK within the next five years.

Ren Zhengfei, founder and CEO of Huawei, said in a meeting with David Cameron, that the company would spend £6 million on local procurement with a further £6 million on research and development in the country.

Zhengfei said: ‘‘The UK is a centre of innovation, has a highly skilled workforce, and is respected internationally for the quality of its legal and educational systems. It is for these reasons we have selected the UK as the location for a number of our centres of excellence.”

Huawei currentely employs 800 people within the UK, with plans to expand this number to 1,500 by 2017.