Compaq to Plunge into China

Compaq will invest more in China than any other country starting this year, said Alex Lee, the new managing director of Compaq (China) Investment Co Ltd.

"Compaq's strategy towards China has been changed to keep in pace with China's rising economic status and its potential on the information technologies (IT) market," Lee said.

Lee confirmed that the first step to strengthening Compaq's foothold on the Chinese market is to more than double its investment in China in 2001 over the US$20 million in 2000. He did not state the exact amount.

To keep its commitment to the Chinese market, a special team will be sent from its headquarters to conduct a market survey.

The team will work in China for three months and then present its overall strategy in China, Lee said.

Compaq lags behind competitors IBM, HP and Dell in PC sales in China.

Analysts say Compaq failed to do a good job in marketing its PCs in recent years and, as a result, failed to gain a significant market share.

Noting the company was not satisfied with its PC sales last year£¬ Lee said, "That is why we want to regain our proper status on the PC market in China this year."

It is believed that one of the reasons for slow Compaq PC sales is that it does not have a manufacturing base in China.

To change this, Compaq is seeking a joint venture with a Chinese partner this year, Lee said.

But Compaq's PC business began to turn around in October when it launched a new brand strategy to sell its products.

Meanwhile, Compaq will start to focus on mobile commerce or "M-commerce," the watchword of China's technological future.

M-commerce is widely used in hospitals, the retail industry and public security services, among other areas. Doctors, for example£¬ check up on data of a patient from anywhere at anytime using a mobile gadget.

M-commerce combines PC products with a series of high-tech products.

Compaq also will focus enterprise-level products this year, including PCs and servers as well as computer applications.

These computer applications can be widely used in the fields of banking, securities, computing and railway sectors, Lee said.

Compaq China will start the operation of its e-business centre in Beijing. Lee is confident in the company's business mode in China.






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