NEC wins $475m Asia cable contract

NEC wins $475m Asia cable contract

TOKYO (Reuters): Japan's NEC Corp said on Wednesday it had won a $475 million order to build an underwater fiber optic cable connecting major cities in Asia.

NEC, one of Japan's largest electronics makers and also a maker of cable systems, said it last week signed a contract with telecoms carrier Asia Global Crossing Ltd, a joint venture between heavyweights Global Crossing Ltd, Microsoft Corp and Softbank Corp

The cable will link Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Taiwan -- where demand for large-capacity Internet traffic is growing rapidly -- NEC said in a statement.

The project, phase 2 of the East Asia crossing submarine cable system project for a 7,900-km (4,909-mile) undersea cable, is part of a 19,500-km (12,120-mile) route that would connect those areas with Korea and Japan, with capacity of 2.56 terabits, NEC said.

"This contract to construct phase 2 of the East Asia crossing is a great opportunity for NEC to help build the future of Asia's emerging Internet society and to help connect Asia seamlessly to the global economy," Mineo Sugiyama, senior executive vice president of NEC, said in a statement.

The contract follows two earlier ones NEC won in April. One of them, worth $800 million and the company's largest such order, is to supply an underwater cable system also linking countries in Asia. The other is to link Australia and Japan in a contract worth $350 million.

The news came just before the Tokyo stock market closed. NEC shares slipped 4.23 percent to 2,150 yen, as high-techs were sold off on fears that poor earnings by International Business Machines Corp would further weaken U.S. techs later in the day.