Yang Yuanqing – The PC mogul
At the tender age of 36, Yang
Yuanqing, president of Legend Computer Systems
Ltd and vice president of parent company Legend
Holdings, has every reason to be proud. He has
helped raise the company’s PC market share in China
to more than 30 percent in 2000, making Legend
the biggest computer manufacturer and supplier
in China. According to Gartner Dataquest, Legend’s PC shipments increased 89% from 1999 to more than 1.8 million PC units in 2000, beating other PC powerhouses such as Samsung Electronics, IBM, Acer and Dell Computer. Yang boldly predicts that Legend would double its sales this year.
In the third quarter of the financial year ended 31 December 2000, Legend reported a 50.4% increase in turnover of HK$7,656 million (US$981.5 million). Profit in the period rose 68.7 percent to HK$249 million (US$31.9 million).
The strategy that Yang is adopting this year is two-pronged. His first focus is centered on the development of personalized home PCs. To this end, Legend has already launched four new product series designed to cater to the unique demands of different consumers. The Tianhui series is targeted at children; Future Pioneer caters to high school students; Tianlu is designed for adults; and Tianle for the middle-aged and the elderly.
The second approach for Yang is to make Legend an Internet services giant. Legend plans to delve into the development and manufacturing of various Internet access devices such as ‘Internet PCs’ with integrated Web connectivity and content.
Legend’s first-generation Internet home PC – the Conet PC launched in 1999 - has received an encouraging response from the public. More than 700,000 units were sold last year, exceeding predicted sales target by 40%.
Late last year, Legend’s second-generation home Internet PCs – Conet II and Tongxi – were launched, specifically designed for netizens. Yang expects the demand for these PCs to grow significantly as the number of netizens increase with the advancement of Internet access.
The
strategy that Yang is adopting this year
is two-pronged. His first... the development
of personalized home PCs. The second...
to make Legend an Internet services giant. |
In March this year, they released their first self-designed notebook PC called Zhaoyang, where they made more than 30 improvements over their previous model. They see this as a significant milestone to establish themselves as the No 1 market leader in notebook PCs in China.
In addition, Legend will spend US$5.8 million on a new manufacturing base in Pudong, Shanghai. The first phase of this project is expected to complete by May 2001, with an annual production yield of 800,000 units. The second phase, slated for completion by the end of this year, will see production increase by 700,000 units.
Looks like China’s PC mogul will have a busy time this year making Legend live up to its name. – Ariel Tam, ZDNet Asia