Huawei Technologies Co, China's largest maker of telephone equipment, plans to invest US$2 billion in the UK within five years, as it almost doubles its work force in the country.

The announcement followed British politicians' efforts to woo business from China and other countries while London hosted the Olympic Games. Huawei will increase its headcount in the UK to more than 1,500 by 2017, from more than 800 now, the company said in a statement yesterday. It will spend US$1 billion in direct investment plus US$1 billion through procurement.

The Shenzhen-based company said in March that it would expand and add jobs in Europe. Huawei, which provides cloud and business computing services in addition to selling smartphones and tablets, last year won its first major wireless network order in the UK from Everything Everywhere, a venture between Deutsche Telekom AG and France Telecom SA.

"The UK is an open market, which welcomes overseas investment," Huawei Chief Executive Officer Ren Zhengfei said in yesterday's statement.

Huawei, which employed 5,000 people in Europe as of March, has research and development facilities in the UK, France, Italy, Sweden and Germany. In both the UK and France, the company has established local boards of directors for business development.