TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Alcatel Lucent strengthens investment, eyeing more Indonesian business
The Paris-based Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALU) announced on Wednesday a corporate move that will significantly increase its investment capability and strengthen its enterprise division in communications and networking for businesses of all sizes, especially in the growing market of the Asia Pacific region
Change Size
T
he Paris-based Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALU) announced on Wednesday a corporate move that will significantly increase its investment capability and strengthen its enterprise division in communications and networking for businesses of all sizes, especially in the growing market of the Asia Pacific region.
Under the deal, the China Huaxin Post and Telecommunication Economy Development Center (Huaxin) acquired a majority stake in the ALU enterprise division for US$254 million, thereby pumping fresh resources into it to make it more competitive in the global market.
'This deal led Alcatel into a new era with a bigger cash reserve for new investment in its business expansion, especially in the Asia Pacific region,' ALU vice president of Asia Pacific Sales Matthieu Destot told journalists from Asia.
The press conference, which coincided with a similar announcement made by ALU chief executive officer Michel Emelianoff in Paris, explained the corporate strategy and concerted market efforts to be made by ALU in its major markets around the world.
'With such a dedicated new investor (Huaxin), we now have the ability to execute our ambition to become an essential player in the enterprise communications market,' Emelianoff asserted at the Paris conference.
Some analysts see ALU's sale of its enterprise division to Huaxin as part of its restructuring initiative to cut costs and build up large savings for investment in big business expansion without too much debt financing.
The synergy between Huaxin and ALU could be a boost to the French communications giant to become more competitive against such rivals as Cisco and China's Huawei and ZTE companies.
AlU has been present in Indonesia for more than 30 years, working with most of the country's telecommunication service providers, supporting them with a full range of technical solutions and services (radio and microwave access, Internet provision, as well as optical and submarine cable networks).
ALU Indonesia itself has been an active member of the information and communications technology (ICT) players supporting the different actors in the development of the ICT landscape in the country.
Damien Delard, ALU vice president for Southeast Asia, which includes Indonesia, reiterated Indonesia's important role as the largest market in the region for its numerous ICT products, services, networks and various technical solutions.
'The latest corporate move will significantly strengthen our capacity to serve and get new customers and business partners in Indonesia,' Delard said.
Delard said ALU has been supplying ICT equipment and services, including wifi, wireless access, IP telephony, automated data centers, mobile and multimedia communications to hotels and infrastructure projects such as airports and banks in Indonesia.
He added that the new venture with Huaxin would further strengthen ALU's capacity to serve more hotels, new airports and other big facilities.
'We see big opportunities, especially in serving hotels and hospitals, which have been sprouting up outside of Java, such as on Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi,' Delard noted, adding that ALU expects an annual growth of 10 to 30 percent within the next two to three years.
He added that even the growing small and medium enterprise sector in Indonesia has been offering more business opportunities for mid-sized data center solutions. (++++)
