IBM forms RI subsidiary

JAKARTA (JP): Information technology company IBM Corporation of the United States is establishing PT IBM Indonesia to boost its marketing activities in the country.

IBM executive Ramon Dimacali said on Friday that the company would invest about US$4 million in the subsidiary, set to start operation in January.

He hoped the new company would be able to improve its Indonesian marketing network, which is currently handled by distributor PT Usaha Sarana Informasi (USI) Jaya.

IBM's business in Indonesia was hit hard by the onset of the crisis in 1997, but it quickly recovered the following year as the company's 1998 revenue doubled, an IBM report said.

The company also said that its market share in the country's information technology business was about 25 percent. (udi)