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Technology Stocks : Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ibexx who wrote (47089)	1/18/2001 7:22:17 AM
From: John Carragher	Respond to of 77400

Cisco CEO: China Sales Could Grow 100% A Year Dow Jones Newswires BEIJING -- China could become Cisco Systems Inc.'s (CSCO) second-biggest market after the U.S. in as soon as three years, as the country rushes to beef up its Internet infrastructure, Chief Executive John Chambers said Thursday. "I think the Chinese market has the opportunity to not only be a billion-dollar market for us, but to grow at 100% per year," Chambers said, in a meeting with reporters. China's appetite not only for technology but also technological know-how is an opportunity waiting to be seized, he said. "If we don't do it, somebody else will." The U.S. market is 52% of Cisco's business, while China is less than 4%, Chambers said. China could comprise 10% in three to five years, bringing it to the number two spot currently occupied by the U.K., he said. "That assumes the Chinese economy stays reasonably strong." he said. "It assumes that we focus on education here and we build up their infrastructure." he said. Even so, a growing China business probably wouldn't offset a U.S. slowdown, Chambers said. "When capital spending slows, we are not immune." He added that while he thinks Cisco's share price is currently undervalued, markets as a rule will price shares correctly over the long run. Cisco's customers in China include all six licensed national telecommunications operators, the Bank of China, China Construction Bank, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, and the ministries of railways, public security and communications, said Jia-Bin Duh, president of Cisco's China operations. Chambers said Cisco currently spends about $800 million a year buying components from its Chinese suppliers. Cisco also runs labs in China and 120 Networking Academies that work with local schools to bring electronic learning to 4,000 to 6,000 students, he said. "In terms of value, we're obviously putting more in than we're getting back at the present time," Chambers said. "But we feel that it will pay off in the long run." -By Stephanie Hoo, Dow Jones Newswires; (86-10) 6588-5848; stephanie.hoo@dowjones.com