Siemens Launches 1.5-bln-dollar Investment Programme in AsiaThe German technology giant Siemens said Monday it planned to invest more than 1.5 billion dollars in Asia to expand its market share in mobile communications in the region to 15 percent by 2002.Key is the joint development of the communication standard TD-SCDMA for third generation mobile networks with the China Academy of Telecommunication Technology, said Rudi Lamprecht, the head of the group's information and communication mobile group Siemens ICM. The group also said the extension of GSM mobile network solutions, new mobile devices and closer cooperation with content suppliers would boost the group in the region. "Asia is the largest potential market for m-business (mobile business) solutions ... and the increase in sales volume in the Asian market is top priority for us," Lamprecht told a press conference. The 1.5 billion dollars "will be invested evenly in marketing, research and development and production facilities," he said. Asia is the world's largest mobile market and currently accounts for over 40 percent of Siemens' GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) infrastructure sales. Siemens currently has a market share of eight percent in Asia in the area of mobile technology. The company said two-thirds of the funds, more than one billion dollars, would be invested in China which already accounts for a third of all Siemens ICM's international sales. "Having success in Asia in mind, the bridgehead for our future expansion strategy is China," said Lamprecht. China currently has 60 million mobile phone users compared to 110 million for the rest of Asia. The current penetration rate is just five percent, but is growing at 30 percent per year. Siemens has signed a memorandum of understanding with China Unicom, the second largest GSM network operator in China, to cooperate in the fields of GSM, intelligent networks and new technologies such as WAP (wireless application protocol), which allows internet access through mobile devices such as cell phones. |
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