The Philippine Online Chronicles

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In a report by The Associated Press, Lenovo Group CEO Yang Yuanqing said that his company expects wireless Internet products to account for up to 80 percent of its sales within the next five years as it pursues expansion in faster-growing emerging markets.

"Mobile Internet is very important," Yang said in an interview. "Even today, notebook sales already are higher than desktops."

This year, Yang said that Lenovo, which acquired the personal computer unit of IBM Corp. in 2005, plans to concentrate on promoting mobile Internet and sales in the emerging economies of Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe.

The fourth largest personal computer maker in the world, Lenovo entered the mobile Internet market in January, introducing a smart phone, as well as two Web-linked portable computers.

In the latest quarter, Lenovo reported that sales in India and other emerging markets rose 52 percent over a year earlier, four times higher than the sales growth in the United States and Western Europe, which came to 13 percent. It also says that its global market share last year rose to 9 percent, the highest level to date.

Lenovo, which is based in Beijing and in Morrisville, North Carolina, was hit hard by the global financial crisis. The crisis moved its core corporate customers to cut back on spending, and the company suffered through three losing quarters before posting a profit in the second half of 2009.

Lenovo's longer-term strategy, dubbed "protect and attack," involves consolidating its dominant presence in its home country, Yang said.

"The Chinese market is growing very fast," he said. "I'm confident we can grow our market share."

China makes up nearly half of Lenovo's sales worldwide, but the company faces challenges from industry leaders Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc., which are turning out products tailored specifically for Chinese customers.