Lenovo to make Singapore regional HQ

Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想集團), the world's third-largest maker of personal computers, said Singapore will be its sales-support headquarters for Southeast Asia and India, a region in which the company plans to employ 180 people.

"Lenovo chose Singapore due to its central location" in Southeast Asia, "world-class logistics infrastructure, excellent international banking network and talented pool of professionals," Mary Ma (馬學徵), Lenovo's chief financial officer, said in Singapore today.

The move comes after Beijing-based Lenovo completed its US$1.25 billion purchase of International Business Machines Corp's unprofitable personal computer business on May 1, giving the company a globally recognized brand with a foothold in the US and annual revenue of about US$12 billion. Lenovo employs 19,000 people worldwide. Howie Lau, country general manager for Lenovo, said the company will introduce products under the Lenovo brand at the end of the fourth quarter.

The company on May 3 named IBM's Stephen Ward as chief executive. Lenovo's chief executive Yang Yuanqing (楊元慶) was named chairman, replacing founder Liu Chuanzhi (柳傳志), who became a non-executive director.

Lenovo appointed Ou Shian Waei as general manager for the South Asia and Southeast Asian region, the company said in the statement. He was general manager of IBM's personal computing division for the region.