Computer giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) has signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s SNAS Trading & Contracting Company to build and manage a plant for the assembly of Personal Computers (PCs) in the Kingdom. Construction of the Riyadh plant will begin in July 2003 and the first PCs from the facility should begin appearing in the local market in the fall.
The plant is expected to produce around 80,000 PCs per annum, which will be sold in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East region. HP believes that the new plant, in addition to supporting the local Saudi economy, will result in product coming to market more quickly—turnaround time is expected to be halved from its existing time of 30 days from order to delivery down to 15 days.
Two existing HP partners—Nahil Distribution and Jeraisy Computer Communications Services (JCCS)—have initially been identified to distribute PCs from the plant within the Kingdom, while Aptec will distribute around the Middle East. HP plans to consider engaging with more partners depending on the scope of individual projects and opportunities developing in the Middle East.
“Since our announcement six months ago that HP intended to set up this facility in the Kingdom, we have been busy finalizing all of the details relating to this highly significant venture in the Middle East,” said Christoph Schell, general manager, HP Personal Systems Group in the Middle East.
“Our announcement today means that we are well positioned to move forward quickly in establishing the plant, and growing the PC market in the Kingdom. SNAS has an excellent track record working with international companies in the Kingdom. We believe that this experience, together with their excellent logistics facilities and their financial strength, makes them an ideal fit for HP on this particular venture.”
“Since the majority of the employees within the plant will be Saudi nationals, we see this as a significant move by both HP and SNAS in driving Saudisation,” said Bassam Mahmoud Jabr, general manager of SNAS.
HP will be responsible for providing components, system integration and knowledge transfer as well as all arrangements surrounding HP branding. SNAS will be responsible for the manufacturing process, for quality certification and for the establishment and maintenance of the legal entity under Saudi regulations.
“We see the establishment of this plant as crucial in helping us to address the particular needs of small to medium businesses in the Kingdom and around the region,” said Schell. “The new facility is designed to complement our existing, extensive portfolio of products and to help us grow the PC market in the region.”
HP’s Information Technology (IT) solutions include infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing for consumers, enterprises and small and medium business. For the last four quarters, HP revenue totalled $70.4 billion.
HP is the largest IT company in the Middle East, employing about 500 people in the region. HP has been present in the Middle East since 1968, and opened its first regional office in 1994 and has offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Riyadh, Jeddah and Khobar servicing the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Levant and Egypt. — (menareport.com)
SNAS Trading & Contracting was established in 1977 on behalf of its sole owner, Prince Saud Bin Naif Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud. SNAS is conceived as a holding company enabling major multinational companies to bid for significant contracts in conjunction with an effective Saudi Arabian Joint Venture Partner.
During the past 26 years, SNAS has established long-term partnerships with number of Blue Chip companies in America, Germany, Britain, France, Korea and Japan. SNAS joint ventures are in diversified fields of activity including: electronics, communications, defense, construction, insurance, courier services, security, maritime and general trading. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
