Ericsson Corp. remains upbeat on Asia Pacific market<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Shanghai, China<\/p>\n
The Swedish-based telecommunications equipment maker Ericsson
\nCorp. remains optimistic that the current weak market faced by
\nthe industry would be short-lived, especially when emerging
\nmarkets such as Asia Pacific countries continue to show signs of
\nimprovement.<\/p>\n
President of Ericsson Asia Pacific Ltd. Ragnar Back said in a
\nrecent seminar here that the Asia Pacific market still managed to
\ngrow despite a slowdown in the telecommunications industry
\nworldwide.<\/p>\n
\"The whole telecommunications sector is having problems, but
\nthe emerging markets managed to make an exception. Look at India,
\nChina, Indonesia and so on. They're progressing very good,\" Back
\ntold reporters in Shanghai, adding that the company's market
\nshare in India's booming market had increased to 40 percent.<\/p>\n
Such progress, Back added, was made possible due primarily to
\nthe fact that Asia still has a relatively low penetration rate in
\nterms of infrastructure, compared to other established markets in
\nthe world, such as the U.S. and Europe.<\/p>\n
Ericsson has been known as one of the world's leading wireless
\nequipment providers, but the company, along with other firms in
\nthe telecommunications industry, was badly hit by the current
\nunfavorable conditions in the global economy, which has been
\nexperiencing a slowdown in the past year.<\/p>\n
The situation forced the company to suffer its first annual
\nloss ever last year of 21.3 billion krona (around US$2.3
\nbillion). As of the first semester of this year, it also recorded
\na loss of around $900 million.<\/p>\n
The situation has been so bad that the company has even begun
\na restructuring package that will bring total employment below
\n60,000 by 2003, from 107,000 last year. It said its cost-cutting
\nactions were necessary to enable it to return to profit next
\nyear.<\/p>\n
In Asia Pacific however, Ericsson indeed has a strong market
\nposition, with the company's net sales in the region in the first
\nhalf of the year reaching more than $2 billion, which accounts
\nfor almost 30 percent of its global sales.<\/p>\n
China and Japan are currently among the company's top 10
\nmarkets in terms of sales and orders, with China ranked as the
\nsecond largest market after the U.S. In China, over 50 percent of
\nmobile subscribers are connected through operators whose
\nequipment networks have been supplied by Ericsson.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, Ericsson supplies communications networks to all
\nof the four national-level mobile phone operators -- namely
\nTelkomsel, Satelindo, Excelcomindo Pratama and Indosat Multi
\nMedia Mobile (IM3) -- as a result of which around 8 million
\nmobile phone subscribers in the country are connected to each
\nother.<\/p>\n
\"In the region, we're definitely well-positioned. We are now
\nthe number one provider with over 30 percent of the market share
\nin mobile communications infrastructure. And we intend to stay
\nthat way,\" Back said.<\/p>\n
He added that things would be even better now that the economy
\nwas heading toward recovery. As of June, there were more than 300
\nmillion mobile subscribers in Asia Pacific countries.<\/p>\n
Ericsson is present in virtually all Asia Pacific countries,
\nwith its regional head office being in Hong Kong, and 11 market
\nunits located in Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,
\nMalaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
According to Back, a strong grip in the Asia Pacific market
\nwould prove crucial as the region's mobile phone subscriber
\ngrowth has been and would remain the fastest growing in the
\nworld.<\/p>\n
It is expected that mobile phone subscribers in Asia alone
\nwill account for some 50 percent of the global market, which is
\nprojected to reach 1.8 billion subscribers by 2007.<\/p>\n
Ericsson is shaping the future of Mobile and Broadband
\nInternet communications through its continuous technology
\nleadership.<\/p>\n
Providing innovative solutions in more than 140 countries,
\nEricsson is helping to create the most powerful communications
\ncompanies in the world.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ericsson-corp-remains-upbeat-on-asia-pacific-market-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}