Long before any of its siblings had thought of selling computer products under their own names in Europe, Fujitsu Ltd established a bridgehead in Spain back in 1974, and formed an alliance with Telefonica de Espana SA to market, and offer bureau services on, its mainframes. Some 20 years later, NEC Corp wants to become the first Japanese company to make its mark in Europe with its telecommunications equipment, and has also chosen the Iberian peninsular for its bridgehead. NEC and its Brazilian subsidiary NEC do Brasil SA have paid $7.3m for a 60% stake in Portuguese manufacturer of telecommunications switching and transmission equipment, SISTEL-Comunicacoes, Automacao e Systemas SA. It says the acquisition was in response to a Portuguese government request that it invest in SISTEL and help it develop leading technologies. NEC plans to export from the new Portuguese operation to the rest of Europe, to Africa and the Middle East.
