Neon expects S$20m sales in AP; S'pore key growth area
singapore.cnet.com
By Irene Tham, Singapore.CNET.com
Saturday, October 14 2000
SINGAPORE--Nasdaq-listed New Era of Networks Inc (Neon) expects to close the year with sales of S$20 million from Asia Pacific excluding Japan.
The company provides middleware that enables various software and computers to share data.
Neon also expects revenues from the region to double to S$40 million for the year ending 2001, its president (Commercial Business Unit) Fred Horn told Singapore.CNET.com in an interview.
"The (Asia Pacific) economy is beginning to pick up and the business climate is better now than two years ago," Horn said.
Among markets Horn identified as key to the company's revenue growth are Singapore and Hong Kong. He sees "great opportunities" especially in the financial service, healthcare and manufacturing industries.
According to Neon, its existing customers include Nokia, Caltex Oil, Gul Technologies and CK Tang in Singapore; Bank of China, Marconi Communications, ABN AMRO Bank and Ka Wah Bank in Hong Kong; Quantas and United Energy in Australia; Clear Communications in New Zealand; Handysoft and Samsung in Korea; and Schindler Elevators in Malaysia.
"We have also started implementing our solutions for a major financial institution in Singapore," Horn said, declining to reveal the identity of Neon's latest win in the country.
Founded in 1994, Neon first expanded into Asia Pacific in 1997 to Australia. The company now employs about 100 staff in its regional headquarters in Singapore as well as in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Australia.
Expansion into India, China and Thailand is in the pipeline via resellers, he said. He expects to announce a reseller deal in India by year end, but could not commit a timeframe for China and Thailand. Neon's existing resellers include NTT in Japan and Handysoft in Korea, he added.
Horn declined to provide details on future investments but said that it will be "significant".
To date, Neon spent more than US$10 million setting up its operations in Asia Pacific, including its acquisition of SLI Consulting Pte Ltd last April, Horn said.
Besides partnering resellers, Neon also signed worldwide co-marketing deals with companies including IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Siebel, CommerceOne and BroadVision, he added. |
