Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), the world’s No. 5 PC brand, is gearing up for formal launches of its PC products in the emerging Brazilian market in the fourth quarter.
“We haven’t taken care of these markets before ... The emerging markets will give our business a further boost,” chief financial officer David Chang (張偉明) told reporters yesterday after attending an investors’ conference organized by the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Brazil, India and Indonesia are three of the key emerging markets the company has targeted to increase market share, it said.
Asustek launched a “long stay” program this year for Brazil. Key executives, including chief executive Jerry Shen (沈振來), went to the country for a period ranging from a few days to a few weeks to deploy business strategies.
The program ended last month and the company said it was ready to formally compete in the market, especially promoting its slew of lower-cost netbook PCs, starting from the fourth quarter.
South America accounts for 10 percent of the world’s PC shipments and, of that, Brazil comprises half, Chang said.
Progress in India will be slower given the sheer size of the market, challenges of poor transportation infrastructure, as well as time needed to build channel partnerships, he added.
In contrast, Indonesia has bore fruits thanks to the geographic proximity.
Asustek’s PC market share in Indonesia grew four-fold to 8 percent in the first quarter, from 2 percent the same period last year, Chang added.
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