Tokyo and Moscow, July 12th, 2005 -- NEC Corporation today
announced that it has established a sales & marketing
subsidiary in Russia, Closed Joint Stock Company NEC
Infocommunications (hereafter "NEC Infocom"), which has commenced
operations this month.
Investment in information and communication technologies ("ICT") in
Russia was effectively frozen when the Russian financial crisis
struck in 1998. However, investment resumed slowly from about 2000,
and now the formerly primitive ICT infrastructure standards of
Russia are rapidly advancing. Russia has now also entered a period
of explosive growth in mobile phone use, marking the advent of an
enormous, unexploited mobile phone market. This, combined with
progress in the switchover to broadband over backbone among major
cities and access networks, is also driving enterprise ICT
investment.
Until recently, NEC has managed its Russian business out of three
management bases: the Moscow Representative(liaison) Office, the
Radio Technical Center (a technical support center engaged in
engineering, maintenance and technical support etc. in the field of
wireless equipment, mainly Pasolink, and Closed Joint Stock Company
NEC Neva Communications Systems (a joint venture company engaged in
the manufacture and sale of public switching systems; investment
ratio: NEC 45%,Telecominvest Production 35%, Sumitomo Corporation
10%, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., 10%; hereafter "NEC Neva").
In anticipation of full-fledged growth of the Russian ICT market,
NEC decided to merge its Moscow Representative Office with the
Radio Technical Center to establish NEC Infocom in Moscow, a new
company that will operate in collaboration with NEC Neva. NEC
Infocom functions as a core for NEC's local solutions offerings and
will fully utilize NEC's presence and know-how in the Russian
telecommunications market, supplying public switching systems,
optical transmission systems, backbone microwaves, and Pasolink
,etc. It also boasts strong relations, accumulated over its long
business history in Russia, with Russian telecom operators.
NEC Infocom has strong capabilities in both sales and system
engineering ("SE"), enabling it to provide customer with ideal
solutions. In contrast, NEC Neva, which manufactures public
switching systems, will further reinforce its non-hardware business
in areas such as maintenance, technical support, and systems
integration ("SI") in order to switchover to being a total
professional engineering company.
As the mobile market expands, NEC Infocom will aim at full-fledged
participation in 3G mobile infrastructure projects, scheduled for
commercialization in 2006, in cooperation with NEC Neva. Based on
its success last year in offering mobile value-added service
solutions for Mobile TeleSystems , such as Ringback Melody (RBM)
system and i-mode platform, NEC Infocom , together with NEC Neva
will strengthen its capabilities and reinforce local structures
corresponding to a wide range of business, not only on the hardware
basis but also non-hardware, such as network planning,
optimization, software, maintenance/technical support, etc. NEC
Infocom becomes a provider of the latest mobile solutions by
coordinating with the total professional engineering services
offered by NEC Neva.
Mr. Mikhail Zaskalet has been appointed as General Director of the
new company. Mr. Zaskalet has earned a reputation for achieving
outstanding results during his years of experience in highly
strategic management, and also boasts many important connections in
the Russian telecommunications field.
In the future, NEC plans to expand its presence in Russia by
positioning itself as a full-fledged participant in this large
mobile handset market, as well in the fields of broadcasting, IT
Solutions, and enterprise networks. In the process of revealing its
total integrated IT/network solutions capabilities, NEC will
contribute to the development and creation of a ubiquitous
networked society in Russia, maintaining closer-than-ever contact
with all of its customers.
About NEC's Business Development in Russia
NEC has been involved in business in Russia for over 30 years, and
has contributed to the deployment of most of its telecommunications
infrastructure such as public switching systems, over 30,000 km of
optical transmission systems, and over 9,000 km of microwave
systems including Trans-Siberian-Line networks, Satellite
communication systems, and enterprise communication systems. In
particular, NEC has supplied over 12,000 sets of its microwave
system, Pasolink, as part of a Mobile Infrastructure System to
Russian Mobile Operators, contributing to the enhancement of mobile
services. It has also pursued technology transfer to local joint
venture partners. NEC Neva Communications System, a public
switching system manufacturing facility, was the first high-tech
alliance between a Japanese and Russian company. NEC has also
transferred optical transmission technology to EZAN, Experimental
Factory of Russian Science Academy.
About NEC's Global Mobile Business
NEC is a total solution provider for 3G and mobile Internet. It has
been involved in every first-stage rollout of 3G systems worldwide.
It is also responsible for developing the first 3G handsets for the
world's first 3G networks. NEC has competence in the mobile
Internet field with its mobile infrastructure system, mobile
application platform and its impressive portfolio of contents. Its
mobile handsets are known for their prominent technologies
including large color screens, built-in cameras and other functions
that make them ideal for use in the mobile Internet. In global
3G/mobile multimedia, NEC aims to take strong initiative to create
and obtain a leading position in the market.
Outline and Description of the Business of the New
Firm
1. Name: (English) Closed Joint Stock Company NEC
Infocommunications
2. Date of Establishment: June 9, 2005 (start of
operation: July, 1)
3. Place of Business Operation: Moscow, Russian
Republic
4. Capital and Investor and Investment
Composition:
(1) Capital: 14 million rubles (53 million yen)
(2) Investor and Investment Composition: NEC 90%, NEC
Europe10%
5. Description of Business:
(1) Sales, engineering, installation, and maintenance of fixed and
movable communications systems, etc.
(2) Sales, engineering, installation and maintenance of other
communications- and IT- related systems
(3) Mobile handset sales support
6. Employees: 50 at the time of
establishment
Media Contact:
Akiko Shikimori,
NEC Corporation
Tel: +81337986511
a-shikimori@ay.jp.nec.com