Leading ICT infrastructure provider Huawei has ranked 6th in the Boston Consulting Group’s recently released list of the 50 Most Innovative Companies in 2020, moving up by 42 places.

According to the report, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Huawei occupy the top 6 spots in the new ranking, followed by Alibaba, IBM, Sony and Facebook, said a press release.

The ranking is based on a survey of 2,500 global innovation executives and assesses

companies’ performance on four dimensions of Global “Mindshare”, Industry Disruption, Industry Peer View and Value Creation.

This year, BCG also added a new scoring dimension that captures each company’s variety and intensity of boundary-breaking, by assessing its ability to breach established industry entry barriers and play in an array of markets outside its own.

As the world’s largest supplier of telecommunications equipment, Huawei has continuously invested over 10percent of its annual revenue back into R&D.

In 2019, the company’s R& D expenditure totaled CNY131, 659 million (Chinese Yuan, $1 = CNY7 approx.) accounting for 15.3% of its total revenue.

In terms of 5G, Huawei invested 4 billion USD in the past decade, which makes it the global leader in this next-generation technology. To further commercial adoption and promote new innovation in 5G applications, the company has established 5G joint innovation centers together with carriers worldwide.

Huawei, the global leading provider of ICT technologies, has received grand prizes in Interop Tokyo 2020, the largest ICT exhibition in Japan.

Interop Tokyo 2020 announced the winners of the ‘Best of Show Awards’ with Huawei’s innovative products and solutions winning eight awards, said a press release.

The first one came in Network Infrastructure for showing the industry’s first super C-band transmission product while the prizes come in different categories, namely Cloud Infrastructure, Server and Storage, IoT, Facility solution, AI solution and Enterprise IT.

Read Also: Huawei’s solution for SSC results over SMS avoiding virus

The awards show the industry’s recognition of Huawei’s emphasis on innovation and quality and it’s a reflection of its long-term strategic investment in R&D.

Affected by the pandemic, Interop Tokyo 2020 canceled on-site demonstrations, with online demonstrations and ICT award selection activities being held from April 13 to June 30 instead.

The conference showcased the most advanced technological innovation and practices in the industry and gathered together leading solutions in multiple fields, including AI, IoT, edge computing, and the industrial Internet.

As a result, Interop Tokyo has helped to inject new vitality and confidence into the industry and the wider world.

Read Also: Huawei unveils new tool for all-scenario remote collaboration

Demonstrating its cooperation with partners, Huawei also showcased a brand new digital intelligent ecosystem and its relevant application cases, including 14 products and solutions at Interop Tokyo 2020.

These cutting-edge offerings ably illustrated Huawei’s capabilities to comprehensively promote rapid digital and intelligent development in the ICT field.

With continuous investment in new ICT technologies and ecosystems, and with the ongoing accumulation of global service experience, Huawei has been gaining trust from an increasing number of industry-leading enterprises.

Over 700 cities and 228 Fortune Global 500 companies — including 58 in the top 100 — have chosen Huawei as their digital transformation partner till the date.

Emirates Airline has launched a special activity page on its website  to keep kids entertained during the summer holidays amid the suspension of leisure travel and days out of schools.

The Emirates ‘Fly With me Animals’ colouring books have been digitised as families can take advantage of colourful puzzles, stories and activities featuring friendly, familiar faces – all from the comfort of their own home, said a press release on Friday.

Parents and kids can download and print out a 16-page Fly with Me Animals colouring bookto get re-acquainted with Lewis the Lion, Peek U the Panda, Ernie the Penguin, Savannah the Elephant, Brett the Bear, Mia the Manta Ray and ChaoChao the alligator.

Familes and friends can remain connected by sending a special message to those near and far, using one of the easily downloadable postcards or keep the most treasured snaps in a downloadable photo frame featuring the much-loved animals.

Kids can learn to bake a tasty treat with a yummy banana cake recipe or go on an adventure with the Animals in a series of videos for children.

The Fly with me Animals activity magazines are also available to download and each issue is filled with puzzles and games making learning fun. Those missing the cuddly travel companions, can still visit the Emirates Official Store to purchase the toys and take them home.

Last year, Emirates presented 4.4 million ‘Fly with me’ kids’ toys and Lonely Planet bags and 3.7 million ‘Fly with me’ magazines and sets of colouring pencils on board, reaffirming its position as the preferred airline worldwide for family travel.

A 26-member National 5G Committee has been formed with Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as chairman to coordinate 5G development and boost the country’s digital economy.

The committee is also tasked with mitigating obstacles regarding the recall of unused spectrum from state agencies for the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), in exchange for compensation.

It is expected to enhance cooperation between related agencies for 5G development support, Huawei said in a press release.

Deputy prime ministers Somkid Jatusripitak, Prawit Wongsuwon and Wissanu Kreangam are serving as the deputy chairmen of the committee. The ministers of finance, tourism and education are also part of the committee.

Also Read:Huawei launches 5G-powered Wi-Fi 6 routers

The permanent secretary for the Digital Economy and Society Ministry serves as the director and secretary of the committee.

This committee is formed to promote vertical 5G development, ensuring optimum benefits of 5G adoption for the economy and end users. It will promote a clear roadmap for 5G adoption and infrastructure development by ensuring the participation of representatives from key ministries, said NBTC Secretary-General Takorn Tantasith.

COVID-19 pandemic has prompted Thailand's major telecom operators to rev up deployment of 5G technologies. The country's top mobile operators are racing to deploy 5G networks at hospitals to support doctors and medical personnel to fight the virus.

“Application of 5G to public health demonstrates how digital infrastructure can have a significant impact on people's health during a major emergency,” said Buddhipongse Punnakanta, the Digital Economy and Society Minister.

Also Read:Huawei signs deal to build world’s first 5G smart hotel

The Digital Economy and Society Ministry, together with Huawei Technologies Thailand, are providing AI-assisted solutions with 5G technology to hospitals in the country to enable output diagnosis results more efficiently through a high-speed network.

Industrial organisations such as GSMA pointed out that 5G technologies are crucial in the fight against the pandemic and will be a “backbone” for the economic recovery. It is increasingly accepted in the industry that ICT and digital economy will be a major push as work resumes post pandemic.

Also Read:Huawei releases whitepaper at its ‘5G+, Better World’ online summit

ESCAP Sustainable Business Network (ESBN) for the 2020 Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development on Thursday pledged to put people and planet before profit to ensure that businesses are sustainable and do not lead to a depletion or pollution of the earth’s resources.

"To accelerate wider business action, we encourage Governments to adopt policies that correct for externalities of business operations, including by putting a price on carbon, while incentivizing social and inclusive business models," Spokesperson of ESBN Executive Council and Chairman of the ESBN Taskforce on Disaster and Climate Risk Reduction Asif Ibrahim.

In a statement, he said they will ensure that throughout business operations and will do their utmost to care for employees and suppliers, including respecting human rights throughout our operations as outlined in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and in line with United Nations universal declarations and relevant ILO conventions.

As members of the Executive Council of the ESCAP Sustainable Business Network, Asif said they are deeply concerned with the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on workers and enterprises, in particular micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and emphasize the need to help those most in need, such as informal workers, women, migrants, refugees and older persons.

As a global pandemic, COVID-19 has severely impacted Asia and the Pacific.

In a region that relies heavily on exports and tourism, lockdowns and related closures have disrupted business and supply chains, putting many out of jobs, and risking increasing the already stark inequalities in the region, the statement reads.

"We are concerned that even before the onset of the pandemic, the region was not on track to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030," Asif said.

In particular, he said, are alarmed about the climate-related goals (SDG13) and sustainable consumption and production (SDG12), where the region is moving in the wrong direction, as well as provision of clean water and sanitation (SDG6), and ensuring decent work and economic growth (SDG8).

"We underscore the need to accelerate our efforts to achieve the SDGs and focus on building back better from the Covid-19 crisis," Asif said.

He said they believe the crisis offers opportunities to strengthen the role of - and collaboration with - business in building a more sustainable Asia-Pacific region.

As members of the ESCAP Sustainable Business Network, Asif said they pledged to work with the government and the United Nations to help accelerate the delivery of the SDGs through enhancing our own sustainability, including by adhering to internationally recognized sets of principles and standards of responsible business conduct like the United Nations Global Compact, and setting company-wide carbon emission reduction targets.

"We will also work separately and collectively to promote increased sustainability and resilience among the wider business community in the region," he said.

As the COVID-19 crisis has shown that digital tools and platforms are critical in enhancing resilience, they pledged to work to increase the knowledge and spread of digital tools in the region, including solutions for more effective and efficient supply chains, finance, sales and back-office functions, to enable more flexible production and delivery of work, including working from home where possible.

"As the region is already the most disaster prone in the world, we will also continue to work with ESCAP to emphasize the need for resilience and disaster risk reduction, including through public-private partnerships for tsunami monitoring," Asif said.