HTC buys Dopod
And with that purchase, HTC says to expect 100% growth in Southeast Asia.
SMARTPHONE designer and manufacturer HTC is betting that its acquisition of its customer Dopod International Corp will help double sales of its devices in the region this year. Speaking to the regional press at a briefing last Friday, Peter Chou, chief executive and president of High Tech Computer Corp (HTC), said: 'I would not be surprised with 100 per cent growth in South-east Asia this year.'
According to Mr Chou, the Asia region currently accounts for some 10-15 per cent of its revenues. Last year, HTC reported some US$3.16 billion in revenues. Mr Chou expects Asia's contribution to overall revenue will grow in the coming year to about 20 per cent, helped by its acquisition of Dopod. Last week, HTC announced that it will pay up to US$14.5 million to take over Dopod International's subsidiaries in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Thailand, India and the Philippines, on July 1, 2007. Notably, Dopod's China operations were excluded from the deal. In May last year, HTC said that it will pay no more than US$150 million for a more than 50 per cent stake in Dopod, including its China operations, and that the deal will be finalised before the end of last year. However, there were no further updates on the deal until last week's announcement.