Marconi Announces Three New Deals in Booming Chinese Market
PITTSBURGH, Oct 24, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Marconi (Nasdaq: MONI chart, msgs; London chart, msgs), a global supplier of advanced communications solutions, earlier today announced a major order from Beijing, plus two new alliances that are designed to boost sales of the company's optical technology throughout China.
(Photo:http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000504/MARCLOGO )
The new order from China Telecom in Beijing is part of a series worth nearly $14 million for Marconi's world-market-leading SDH (synchronous digital hierarchy) equipment. It is being used at the heart of a comprehensive upgrade of fixed and mobile phone networks in and around the capital, which will feature the latest high-speed optical networking capabilities.
Marconi has also won orders for its SDH products worth at least $50 million over the next 15 months from the Datang Telecom Technology Company, one of China's top four manufacturers and distributors of telecoms equipment. The deal is part of a long-term strategic alliance, which will see Marconi equipment built into Datang's network solutions throughout the country.
In the city of Guilin, Marconi has taken over as senior partner in a joint venture originally set up in 1992 by Finnish manufacturer Nokia, to form a new enterprise -- Guilin Marconi Telecoms (GMT). Run in partnership with the Chinese Ministry of Information Industries, GMT is already a major supplier of telecoms equipment in China, with 108 employees and sales of nearly $43 million per year.
Mike Parton, chief executive officer of Marconi Communications, said: "These are highly significant milestones at a time when the Chinese economy is widely tipped to become larger than the USA's by the end of the decade. China is demanding world-class optical networks to drive its new industrial revolution and Marconi is increasingly well placed to supply them. Our high- profile role in upgrading Beijing's networks is just part of the process by which Marconi is becoming recognized as a key player in the Chinese communications industry. At the same time, strategic alliances and direct sales are increasing the size of our customer base and marketing opportunities in every part of the country." |
