Huawei says expects 2018 revenue at $109 billion, up 21 percent: chairman

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies' rotating chairman Guo Ping said in his new year's address that the Chinese tech giant's revenue in 2018 is expected to be $108.5 billion, up 21 percent year-on-year.

Guo said Huawei has secured 26 5G contracts. Smartphone shipments in 2018 are expected to surpass 200 million units.

Huawei is the world's largest telecom equipment maker and the second largest smartphone seller. It has come under international pressure this year after the United States and its allies including Australia and New Zealand started barring its equipment on security concerns.

Huawei's chief financial officer Sabrina Meng, who is also the daughter of its founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested and released on bail in Canada earlier this month as the U.S. alleged she defrauded banks with Iran-related transactions.

(Reporting by Sijia Jiang; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)