Hewlett-Packard Co, the world's second-biggest personal computer maker, will increase investment in China and start selling digital cameras and home entertainment systems in the country, said chief executive Carly Fiorina.
"Hewlett-Packard's promise to invest in China has remained a priority and our level of investment is on the rise," Fiorina said at a presentation in Shanghai.
Fiorina is focusing Hewlett-Packard on digital cameras, photo printers and entertainment systems as consumer electronics demand growth outstrips that for computers. Last year consumer market sales made up a "huge part" of the company's business, accounting for US$18 billion of the Palo Alto, California-based company's US$75 billion total revenue, Fiorina said.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"China is the largest and fastest growing consumer market in the world today with more than 1.3 billion consumers," said Fiorina. "The use of computers is spreading more rapidly here than any other nation." Hewlett-Packard returned to China eight months ago after withdrawing in 2001. The company plans to introduce its full range of consumer products, Fiorina said. This includes the HP-branded iPod music player based on Apple's best selling music player, as well as projectors, entertainment hubs and displays.
"The China market is extremely important to HP. We cannot achieve our objective to be the leading technology company without success here in China," Fiorina said.
The company is the fifth-largest seller of personal computers in China and the market leader among overseas-branded PCs, Fiorina said.
In the seven top cities in China, the company has a 12 percent market share for personal computers in eight months of operations since returning to the market, said Ken Koo, vice president of Hewlett-Packard's imaging and printing group.
The company plans to open more than 1,000 stores in over 100 cities in China and spend "several million dollars" on brand-building in China, Koo said.
Some of the digital cameras to be sold in China will be produced at the two plants in Shanghai, Koo said. He declined to give numbers. Hewlett-Packard sold 1 million digital cameras last year.
Worldwide shipments of digital cameras will almost double to 81 million by 2007, while shipments of music players will increase five-fold to 4.8 million units, according to IDC. Personal computer shipments will rise 42 percent to 217 million by 2007 from last year, the technology market research company forecasts.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a