Friday, Sep 12, 2008
Gulf News
Dubai: The continuous slowdown in the US economy might force some Asian technology companies to lower their growth forecast as many of them depend on the US markets, a top official said.
Benq, the Taiwanese manufacturer of monitors, laptops, display and projector systems, might not be able to match its 2007 group revenue figures of $22 billion, a top company official told Gulf News.
"We are trying our best to reach last year's figures. But the US slowdown and the latest figures on job loss projections give a negative spin to our overall business," K.Y. Lee, chairman of Benq, told Gulf News in an exclusive interview.
US unemployment rose from 5.7 to 6.1 per cent in August, and non-farm payroll employment declined by 84,000 jobs, the US Bureau of Labour Statistics reported last week.
In August, employment fell in manufacturing and employment services, while mining and health care continued to add jobs.
"Many aspects of our business depend on the US markets. The continuous slowdown is a worry. However, the recovery of the US dollar and the decline in oil price are good news. These will help tame inflation to a certain degree." He said things might change for the better next year.
"I think by mid next year, things will improve in the US and we hope that will have a positive impact in our business," Lee said.
"However, the good news is that we are seeing strong growth in the emerging markets. Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa and Latin America are driving our sales growth globally."
Benq Group owns 12 companies. Its flagship company Benq Corporation expects $2 billion revenue this year, of which 6.5 per cent, or $115 million is expected to come from the Middle East and African markets.
"The Middle East market is very important for us. It represents 6.5 per cent of our global revenue base and has a very strong growth potential due to a growing population - with one of the highest average young population in the world," Lee said.
"We have witnessed one of the fastest year-on-year growth over the last five years, consistently."
Mideast investment
He, however, ruled out any major investment in the region.
"Although the Middle East market is very good and important to us, the scale of business does not justify investment in manufacturing or a research and development in the region," he said.
"But if the business volume grows to a level, when investment is justified, then why not?"
Benq recently launched its new marketing campaign under the slogan 'Looking Good' which reflects its desire to offer better products, better customer experiences.
"We want to be the only one in various products segments, otherwise the first in categories where other players are also active - like the display, projectors and notebooks," Lee says.
The company is launching a smaller version of its Joybook - the laptop version from Benq. It is expected to be unveiled during the Gitex next month.
Gulf News 2008. All rights reserved.
