Here's an interesting note from Intel about how emerging Asia is now bigger than the Americas. A few weeks ago we were discussing this very thing.
Intel: Emerging Markets to Drive Growth
Mar 12 5:45am ET
MANILA (Reuters) - Intel Corp., the world's largest semiconductor maker, said on
Tuesday its emerging market businesses would be a key component of its sales
growth over the next few years.
Speaking in Manila, as part of a tour of Intel's Asian operations, new President and
Chief Operating Officer Paul Otellini said: "Emerging markets have really helped us
with the downturn (in the industry last year) and will represent a very significant part of
sales over the next four to five years."
In 2001, the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan, contributed 35 percent of the
company's total revenue with the Americas bringing in 33 percent, and Europe 25
percent.
Japan contributed seven percent.
The company has earmarked around $5.5 billion for global capital expenditure this
year, with a further $15 billion to be spent from 2003 to 2005, Otellini said.
Around $4 billion will go into research and development this year.
He declined to give 2002 sales projections for the company but said he saw an
improvement, after the sharp industry slump in 2001.
"In 2002, I am optimistic of growth," he said, adding "in the first quarter we saw servers
coming back and notebooks coming back and that's a good sign," he said at a news
conference.
The replacement of aging computers with newer technology equipment would be a key
growth driver going forward, he said.
Last week, the firm said in San Francisco that it now sees its first quarter sales
revenue at between $6.6 to $6.9 billion compared with its January forecast of $6.4 to
6.7 billion.
Analysts expect the company to post second quarter revenue of $6.84 billion, up 1.1
percent from projected first quarter revenue of $6.77 billion.
Otellini said that the company's capital spending would be focused on upgrading
existing facilities to handle new technology products rather than the construction of
new plants.
"We have no current plans to build any more greenfields (new plants) in the next year
or two," he said.
He did not give a geographical breakdown on the company's capital expenditure but
said the bulk would go into upgrading the company's wafer fabrication plants.
In Asia, spending would be focused on the firm's assembly and test manufacturing
facilities.
Intel has five assembly and test manufacturing plants in Malaysia, the Philippines and
China.
A total of $100 million in investment has been committed to the company's operations
in the Philippines this year, he said, around the same level as last year. |
