Global telecommunications company Alcatel-Lucent will target Indonesia in the next phase of its expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.

Rajeev Singh-Molares, president of Asia-Pacific at the firm, said that it was currently in the first year of a three-year plan that was targeting growth in China and India. However, once this was over, all indications were that the company would look at other high-growth stories in the region, and this would include Indonesia.

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He said: “There are a number of interesting places in Asia, and Indonesia is certainly one of them.”

Mr Singh-Molares also mentioned that there was interest in Vietnam, Singapore and Japan but he appeared more enthusiastic about the potentially larger and more lucrative Indonesian market.

As for Alcatel-Lucent's current strategy in China, he mentioned that the company was focusing on what it calls second- and third-tier cities. He explained that while there were huge markets in cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, they were considerably more expensive than they were a few years ago. He mentioned particular interest in Chengdu.

Alcatel-Lucent’s second-quarter results recorded a net profit margin of -4.96%. Despite the negative numbers, Mr Singh-Molares hailed the results as a big improvement on the previous year and expressed his confidence in CEO Ben Verwaayen, proclaiming that the company would be profitable this year.

He said: “We are a business on the mend but going in the right direction. I believe we will be profitable this year.”

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