Siemens AG announced plans to invest substantial capital in key Asian markets, aiming to climb from the No. 3 position to the No. 2 slot among the world’s mobile telecommunications equipment makers.
“We want to be No. 2 on the world market for mobile communication technology, and are well on our way toward achieving this goal,” said Christoph Caselitz, president of Mobile Networks at Siemens.
In 2004, Siemens was the world’s third-largest mobile network equipment supplier with 13-percent market share, while L.M. Ericsson sat well above any competition at 27 percent, according to research firm Gartner. Nokia Corp. had a 14-percent market share and Motorola Inc. came in fourth with 11 percent.
“We will be enjoying an above-average share of this region’s breathtaking growth,” Caselitz said at the 3G World Congress in Hong Kong.
The global wireless infrastructure market was valued at $49 billion last year and is expected to grow by 10 percent in 2005. Caselitz said Siemens’ wireless business in Asia grew by 20 percent in 2004 as many of the region’s carriers invested heavily in next-generation mobile networks.
“This fiscal year alone, we will be investing triple-digit millions of euros in Asia, including funding for research and development in the field of mobile network technology,” Caselitz said.
Caselitz explained that Siemens planned to broaden its regional partnerships in Asia-announcing alliances with telecom equipment supplier Poson in China and with the Infocomm Development Authority in Singapore.
“We are already positioned in the Asian region today. It is clear that we’ll be aggressively moving into mature markets there with 3G and into developing markets with GSM technology. And we have expanded our portfolio to include new affordable products and solutions for emerging markets like Bangladesh, Thailand or Vietnam. In addition, we’ll be growing in the mature markets with IMS and broadband,” Caselitz added.
