growth from 2007-2008, the BenQ Group registered a positive growth in
the last fiscal year. With a range of products, from projectors,
cameras to LCD monitors and notebooks the company is hoping to bounce
back with an expected revenue of more than $20 billion for 2010—11.
The company's conceptual products
displayed at its recent Global Distributors Meeting at Sun Moon Lake
City (Taiwan) gave an indication of its plans for future 3D
televisions that range from 18 inches to 42 inches 3D monitors and
energy-efficient lighting solutions. The group also has ambitious
projects like a 3D television model that can be viewed without any
glasses, and notebooks that can power itself just from room light.
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style="font-style: normal;">The
global slowdown gave us an opportunity to carry out a
re-organizational exercise. Today, we are much slimmer and stronger,”
said Jerry Wang, Vice Chairman, BenQ Group.
“Today, BenQ is among the
world's top three companies in projector sales, and top six in LCD
products. We have a brand presence in over 100 countries. In future,
it won't just be about consumer electronics. Medical equipment is
coming in and we will do other innovative things also,” he added.
Wang further adds that the company
is seeing a lot of opportunities that are emerging in healthcare
industry, green products, cloud computing and convergence of
electronic products. “We believe that the market will undergo
drastic changes in the coming years and products that really
entertain and make the difference will be much sought after.”
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He
also said that company's projector business, which competes mainly
with Japan's Seiko Epson, stands to reach a 10 percent global market
share at some point this year. He said that the BenQ Group is also
seeking an initial public offering (IPO) in two years as it expands
into the medical field, putting behind it a failed venture in
Europe.
size="3">
style="font-weight: normal;">BenQ
bought the mobile phone handset business from Germany's Siemens AG in
2005, but after losses of $1.2 billion the unit filed for bankruptcy
in 2006. BenQ then split itself into two parts, a listed OEM
manufacturer called Qisda and another is the unlisted BenQ
business.
Talking
a
size="3">
style="font-weight: normal;">bout
the planned IPO, Wang said, "Every year we pay attention to
major potential investors and try to be in contact with them always."
Seeking to diversify, BenQ has also begun co-managing a 3,000-bedded
hospital in Nanjing, China and will do the same next year at a
1,500-bedded hospital in the Chinese city of Suzhou, he added. The
hospital operations dovetail with BenQ's shift into medical
equipment, said Wang. The company recently acquired a Taiwan firm,
Trident Medical, that produces optical scanning devices. “The
acquisition helped us to become Taiwan's largest medical equipment
firm,” he added.