Chinese telecommunications equipment provider ZTE, whose turnover is in the region of $3bn a year, has chosen Romania as its "headquarters" for the battle with its European competitors, Nokia, Siemens, Ericsson, and Alcatel. In order to conquer the markets in the region it has decided to set up research and development and production facilities here. The Chinese group came to Romania three years ago and has stood out on the domestic communications market by having been appointed to build the network of POSTelecom (the operator of Posta Romana - the Romanian Post Office), under a $130 million contract.
"ZTE does think that Romania could be a bridgehead for its expansion in Europe," Clark Chuanzhong Li, chief representative of ZTE for Romania, Greece, Cyprus and other Eastern European countries told Ziarul Financiar. For this, ZTE is investing more and more in Romania." The first step is to turn ZTE's representative office into a limited liability company, an operation scheduled for completion in a matter of months.
Also this autumn, the company plans to enter the Romanian GSM terminals market by launching several affordably priced "fashion" models.
What local advantages made the Asian group choose Romania instead of settling for another country in the region? "Romania is the second largest country in the region (Central and Eastern Europe). It has a very large pool of IT experts and has a very good location in the region and convenient communication by sea, by road and by air, which is very important for an investor," the ZTE official explained. The most important thing, however, is that "there is a historical opportunity for us (ZTE) to enter the European Union market with Romania" once Romania joins in 2007.
The Chinese group's initial investment in Romania will be around 5 million euros, but "there is no limit" that has been set on its investments.
ZTE will establish a research and development centre in Romania, to be later joined by a telecom equipment production facility. These targets depend on the successful co-operation with the local communications operators, currently in its early stages.
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