Intel says it's seeking a Vietnam partner
HANOI - Intel Corp said on Tuesday it was seeking a
local partner in Vietnam to produce personal computers on an
original equipment manufacturing (OEM) basis.
Intel country manager Than Trong Phuc said 70 percent of
Vietnam's annual market of 300,000 PCs was currently split
between about 400 local assemblers and quality varied greatly.
``We are looking for someone who can work with Intel to produce
computers with a quality brand,'' he told Reuters.
He said Intel would transfer knowhow, guarantee supply of motherboards and central processing
units (CPUs) at prices up to 20 percent lower than the outside market, and provide marketing
assistance.
The local partner would invest in the manufacturing, including the plant, and source hard disk drives
and memory.
Intel's aim was to secure through such a venture a 20 percent share of a market it expects to reach
500,000 PCs a year within two to three years, Phuc said.
The role model for the project was China's Legend Holdings (0992.HK) which had become a
billion dollar corporation with 40 percent of the Chinese market, he said.
Intel was currently talking to several local assemblers, including state-run Vietnam Electronics and
Informatics Corp, and private firms Mekong Green Co Ltd and Computer Distribution System Co.
Phuc said these firms were each producing about 500 computers a month.
Phuc said 70 percent of computers sold in Vietnam were produced locally and 90 percent of these
were already using Intel CPUs and 20 percent of them Intel motherboards. But the quality of the
overall product was sometimes poor.
``Having a branded product brings stability to the market,'' he said. ``If we can focus on helping
one or two companies, it's beneficial to us. It's less expensive to deal with fewer people.''
Phuc said the firm chosen as a partner would need to make an initial investment of as little as $1
million for a start-up plant capable of producing 1,000 computers a month. The aim would be to
raise output to 24,000 units a year in the second year and to 100,000 in the next two to three
years.
However, Phuc said such a project would need tax breaks as total tax on imported computers was
currently 16 percent, while that for locally assembled PCs worked out at 21 percent.
``It suggests that the policy doesn't encourage locally assembled products,'' he said. ``The
government should help level the playing field and it could also become a customer.''
Reuters - October 9, 2000.
|