Lenovo execs: a 'golden opportunity' for global growth

A Lenovo retail outlet in Singapore [Gao Yuan / China Daily]

Southeast Asian markets are turning into a key battle ground for electronics vendor Lenovo Group Ltd as the world's biggest personal computer company seeks ways to gain a stronger global presence.

The 600 million population plus the optimistic economic outlook in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc will provide a "golden opportunity" for the Beijing-based company to build a next-generation profit model amid an evident fall in the PC global market, company executives said.

The growing demand in consumer electronics is the most valued asset for Lenovo in ten ASEAN countries, which include Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country; Vietnam and Myanmar, the emerging global economic turbines and Singapore, the richest city state in Asia.

Chen Xudong, senior vice-president of Lenovo, said the consumer electronics market in ASEAN hides a huge potential and the companies who are able to provide the best fitted products will gain great profit in the coming years.

"ASEAN is an extremely diversified market because each country has its own distinctive advantages as well as weak points," said Chen, adding that Lenovo has to carefully study every market to get a bigger presence.

Lenovo's market share in ASEAN reached a record high of 11.9 percent during the first quarter of the new fiscal year, which started in April. Its market share was 8.9 percent a year ago.

Roughly 60 percent of Lenovo's revenue in the region came from the consumer market and the company is trying to expand its "healthy growing" consumers business in the coming years.