CANBERRA, Australia — Chinese telecom giant Huawei announced on Monday it is ending its oldest major sporting sponsorship deal in the world when it ends its contract with Australian rugby league team Canberra Raiders after nine years, blaming a “continued negative business environment.”Australia has barred the world’s largest maker of switching gear and a major smartphone brand from involvement in crucial national communication infrastructure in recent years, while China has ratcheted up pressure for an Australian policy reversal. Huawei will end its financial backing of the Raiders at the end of the current National Rugby League season. The grand final is on Oct. 25. Last year, Huawei renewed its sponsorship deal for two years until the end of the 2021 season. “The continued negative business environment is having a larger than originally forecasted impact on our planned revenue stream and therefore we will have to terminate our major sponsorship of the Raiders at the end of the 2020 season,” a Huawei statement said.

Source: International New York Times August 31, 2020 02:48 UTC