Huawei Technologies Co.

Outside of its home grounds, Huawei hasn't had the easiest of times making a dent in markets such as the US and Europe. But that's not to say the company hasn't been been trying. Just last year, the Chinese communications giant outlined a plan to regain its share of the European smartphone market, with the focus being to build premium handsets and spend more money on research and development. Now, based on that foundation, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei intends to expand his company's presence in Europe by investing even more and boosting hires in the region.

In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Zhengfei said that the company will further increase investment in European R&D, in an effort to change people's perception of Huawei being a "mysterious" corporation. As part of this strategy, Huawei is set to "extend an employee incentive plan to all key non-Chinese employees this year in order to attract and keep top talent," according to the WSJ report.

Across the pond, meanwhile, in the all-important United States market, Zhengfei believes that Huawei's image has been temporarily tainted, after having to deal with accusations of holding corrupted ties to the Chinese government by US Congress. "I believe at the end of the day that it might take 10 or 20 years for the US to know that Huawei is a company with integrity and a good face," Ren told the Wall Street Journal.

[Image credit: AP Photo/Huawei Technologies Co.]