CHINESE equipment major Huawei Technologies is looking to double India revenues to $2.6 billion (approximately, Rs 12,575 crore at current exchange rate) in 2009. The company, which overtook Alcatel-Lucent earlier this year to become the world's third largest mobile network gear maker, is also keen to have a manufacturing facility in India.

 Huawei is working with all major telecom operators including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Idea Cellular and Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL). “We witnessed 100% revenue growth here last year. This year too we are targeting to double India revenues from $1.3 billion (Rs 6287 crore) in 2008,” Huawei India executive director A Sethuraman told ET.

Huawei’s revenues from global operations stood at $23.3 billion in 2008. Business outside China makes for 75% of Huawei’s earnings, with biggest business generators being the Asia Pacific region, Africas, Europe and South Americas.

The Indian equipment market is estimated at $24 billion (Rs 1,15,400 crore) in FY09. Finnish giant Nokia is the market leader, with over Rs 16,500 crore revenues last fiscal followed by Ericsson at Rs 10,300 crore. Huawei currently ranks fifth in India where it has been adding 5,000 base stations every month. While Ericsson and Nokia already have manufacturing facilities in India, Huawei, which entered India 10 years back, does not have any unit still. “We are keen on local manufacturing. We will do it depending on market conditions,” he said.

Huawei had earlier expressed interest in buying sick public sector undertaking Indian Telephone Industries (ITI), in which the government is divesting its stake. “We are open to collaboration to leverage our existing resource base in India,” he said, pointing out that Huawei is already working with ITI on certain equipment orders.

“In India, our key focus areas are wireless, where we are doing significantly well; wireline networks like optics; data communication equipment including switches and metro ethernet besides applications and software,” he said. On the terminal side, Mr Sethuraman said Huawei had 30% market share of mobile phones, USB dongles, modems and customer premise equipment.

The company is strengthening its R&D presence in Bangalore, where it employs 2,000 people. People associated with R&D comprise 43% of Huawei's workforce, he pointed out.