The one region that is largely isolated from recessionary woes plaguing the old world is South and Southeast Asia, and in that part of the globe, even IBM Corp can forget its misery for a few hours, Reuter reports from Singapore: the company is preparing for a sales push in India and Vietnam, and Barry Lennon, the company’s regional chief, says his information technology market is growing in the order of about 7% a year in the region and his company is growing better than the market average; even so, growth is not like it was a few year ago when it was more than 15% a year but we see solid expansion both in terms of profit and revenue, he said; he declined to give any figures, but the problem is that the region still accounts for less than 1% of the $60,000m or so worldwide annual sales; he reckons that with the exception of China, the region’s growth was expected to be the best in the world in 1993; the company is even employing more people, and is now at over 2,000; he sees the best opportunities in India, Thailand and Vietnam – the last only if the US finally lifts the trade embargo on its former foe; Singapore remains by far the biggest market in Southeast Asia for IBM, then Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
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