Loral eyes Asian satellite mart<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Reuter): Asia-Pacific telecommunications demand is
\ngrowing so fast the region will soon dominate the world's
\nsatellite market, American satellite-maker and operator Loral
\nSpace & Communications said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Hank Stackpole, president of the company's Asia-Pacific arm,
\nLoral Asia Pacific, said the region would have up to 90
\nsatellites in orbit by 2006, worth around US$10.5 billion.<\/p>\n
He quoted industry estimates suggesting that over the next
\ndecade the region was likely to order up to 70 new satellites,
\nwell above the 45-50 orders expected for North America.<\/p>\n
\"We would hope that we would have won contracts to build a
\nthird of them,\" he said in an interview.<\/p>\n
\"In terms of telecommunications and broadcasting, Asia is the
\ngrowth area of the world and the foundation of development in
\nthose areas well into the next century,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Loral -- the independent space arm of the former Loral Corp
\nwhich was mostly sold to Lockheed Martin Corp last year -- is one
\nof the world's biggest satellite-makers with an annual turnover
\nof around US$1.4 billion.<\/p>\n
Most of its income has come from manufacturing, but it has
\ninvested heavily in a system of low-orbiting satellites called
\nGlobalstar, due to come into service in 1998 supporting a global
\nnetwork of digital mobile telephones.<\/p>\n
Loral spokesman David Benton said the company's heavy
\ninvestment in Globalstar and other subsidiaries was partly
\nresponsible for its $10.3 million net loss in the three months to
\nJune 30.<\/p>\n
But he said income from operating satellites through its
\nsubsidiaries would eventually generate large profits, far more
\nthan from making satellites.<\/p>\n
\"By 10 years time, the revenue from operating satellites
\nshould be three times as much as from manufacturing them,\" Benton
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Stackpole agreed, saying the Globalstar system, which is 38
\npercent-owned by Loral but run by local firms in 106 countries
\naround the world, would be highly lucrative once operational.<\/p>\n
\"Globalstar will really be a cash cow once it's operational,\"
\nhe said. \"It will have a very quick uptake and should be up and
\nrunning by late 1998.\"<\/p>\n
Much of the revenue from the unit, and from the sale of
\nsatellites, would be from the Asia-Pacific region.<\/p>\n
\"I would say that by 2000, 65 percent to 70 percent of Loral
\nSpace and Communications' income outside the United States will
\nbe coming from the Asia Pacific,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He declined to give a profit forecast but said Asia-Pacific
\nrevenues would continue to escalate.<\/p>\n
\"We would be looking to be a billion-dollar company in Asia by
\nearly next century in partnership with the other operators,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"Hundreds of thousands of villages in China don't have a
\nsingle telephone and there are archipelagos in Indonesia and the
\nPhilippines with hardly any communications. The satellite can
\nbridge those gaps,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Telecoms is no longer a 'nice to have'. It has become an
\nessential of life.\"<\/p>",
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