Huawei Ends Australian Rugby League Team Sponsorship Amid Political Tensions

SYDNEY: The Australian operation of Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei said on Monday it would end its sponsorship of a national rugby league team a year earlier than expected due to a downturn in its business.

The company said it would terminate its sponsorship of the Canberra Raiders at the end of the 2020 season as a “continued negative business environment is having a larger than originally forecasted impact on our planned revenue stream”.


The move comes amid strained relations between Australia and China as Canberra seeks to curtail Beijing’s influence amid concerns over issues including trade and security.

Australia became the first country to effectively ban Huawei from its 5G network on national security grounds in 2018, under then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. The country’s relations with China have since deteriorated and have reached a low point during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Even after the Turnbull government banned us from 5G we managed to find the resources to continue the sponsorship but we just can’t financially support it any longer,” said Jeremy Mitchell, Huawei Australia’s chief corporate affairs officer, in a statement.

Also Watch

Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Low-Key Onam Celebrations For Kerala This Year | CNN News18

The company has backed the rugby league club for nearly a decade. The club’s board members include former intelligence chief Dennis Richardson, while a former defence department secretary, Allan Hawke, is the chairman.

Huawei will keep its name on the team’s training centre, and a place on the rear of the football jersey, the statement said.

Array
(
[videos] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[id] => 5f4c86287c39367400fa8b91
[youtube_id] => q35WC6R_wkc
Huawei Ends Australian Rugby League Team Sponsorship Amid Political Tensions => Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Low-Key Onam Celebrations For Kerala This Year | CNN News18
)

[1] => Array
(
[id] => 5f4c84fdabdb6a740ea104bf
[youtube_id] => 86I9CCLF0BY
Huawei Ends Australian Rugby League Team Sponsorship Amid Political Tensions => CBI To Question Rhea For The 4th Straight Day; Likely To Summon SSR’s Sister Mitu Singh | CNN News18
)

)

[query] => https://pubstack.nw18.com/pubsync/v1/api/videos/recommended?source=n18english&channels=5d95e6c378c2f2492e2148a2,5d95e6c778c2f2492e214960&categories=5d95e6d7340a9e4981b2e10a&publish_min=2020-08-28T11:06:06.000Z&publish_max=2020-08-31T11:06:06.000Z&sort_by=date-relevance&order_by=0&limit=2
)

Speak Your Mind

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Get in Touch

350FansLike
100FollowersFollow
281FollowersFollow
150FollowersFollow

Recommend for You

Oh hi there 👋
It’s nice to meet you.

Subscribe and receive our weekly newsletter packed with awesome articles that really matters to you!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

You might also like

Alibaba beats quarterly revenue, profit estimates

China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd beat quarterly revenue and profit estimates on Thursday...

Sonos soars after strong fiscal-year revenue forecast

Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos. Devan Burris | CNBCShares of speaker maker Sonos rose as...