Arianespace eying Asian market

Arianespace eying Asian market

LANGKAWI, Malaysia (JP): Arianespace has deployed many of its marketing personnel to Asia to meet rising demand for its satellite launching service.

The increased demand for Arianespace services in Asia has prompted the world's leading commercial space transportation company to assign one sales manager for every two countries in Asia.

"Asia is a very important market for us, that's why we give special attention to the region," Jacques Roelandts, a manager at Arianespace Tokyo office, told The Jakarta Post at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace '95 show in Langkawi, Malaysia, recently.

"We have more sales managers in Asia than in other regions in the world. In Asia, we have one sales manager for every two countries, but we have only one sales manager in every four or five countries in other parts of the world," he added.

Citing an example, Roelandts said that Arianespace has appointed one sales manager to look after the market in Indonesia and the Philippines. The sales manager, who is based in Paris, travels often to Jakarta and Manila.

The company also has hired a public relations agency as a representative in each country.

Arianespace has only two other permanent offices -- one in Washington and one in Tokyo -- outside its head office in France.

Roelandts said that demand in Asia has increased significantly over the past few years.

"Of the 39 satellites to be launched, nine or some 24 percent are from Asia alone," he said.

The nine orders include the launching of two satellites for Indonesia -- the Palapa C-2 satellite and another satellite for Indostar. The Palapa C-2 satellite is scheduled to be launched by the Ariane 4 rocket in March, while the Indostar satellite will be put into orbit by Arianespace's newest rocket, Ariane 5, some time in 1997.

Ariane 5 is the latest generation of Arianespace rocket which will make two demonstration flights in 1996. It is scheduled to start commercial flights in early 1997.

Arianespace, a consortium of leading European aerospace and electronics corporations, 13 major banks, and the French space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, is the market leader in commercial space transportation.

The company claims its service dominates 60 percent of the world market, while the remaining 40 percent is held by the U.S., Russia, Japan and China. (akm)