[photopress:1156507054Langchao_Group.jpg,full,alignright]International trade creates different opportunities around the world. In Venezuela the government is equipping schools and public offices with new computers. As a direct consequence of this, in December, Caracas started a joint venture with Eastern China’s Shandong Langchao Group (the biggest PC software company in China and a major builder of PCs) to manufacture low-cost machines which are called ‘Bolivarian PCs.’
This joint venture, which is 60% owned by Langchao, will produce 80,000 computers in Venezuela the first year and 150,000 in 2008, including a stripped-down desktop model at $450. These will be equipped with Intel chips and Intel is of the belief the government alone could buy as many as 300,000 computers.
Guillermo Deffit, Intel’s business-development manager in Venezuela, said, ‘There’s a lot of money in the Venezuelan market now, and it’s important to take advantage of that.’ That could, perhaps, have been better phrased.
Nevertheless, we now have a situation where Venezuela is a major PC IT market for a joint venture company from China.
Source: Business Week