- Pantech strengthens its position in the Mexican market
- Pantech expands its presence in Latin America to Colombia & Argentina
SEOUL, October 17, 2005: Pantech, South Korea’s second biggest mobile phone manufacturer - composed of Pantech Co., Pantech&Curitel Communications, Inc. and Pantech C&I Inc. (“Pantech” hereafter) - today announced that it has signed an agreement with America Movil SA, the largest wireless communications solutions provider in Mexico, for the supply of 500,000 GSM handsets in Latin America.
Under the terms of the agreement, Pantech - via America Movil - will supply 300,000 units in Mexico, and a combined total of 200,000 units in Argentina and Colombia, by the end of this year. Pantech entered the mobile phone market in Mexico last year, having established a partnership with Telcel, a subsidiary of America Movil.
Sung-Kyu Lee, President & CEO, Pantech Co., said: “This agreement will further cement our year long partnership with America Movil and will significantly help to boost our presence in Mexico and in the wider Latin American market. Ultimately, our operations in this region will contribute strongly to our efforts to reach our goal of becoming one of the world’s top five handset manufacturers.”
The model to be supplied to America Movil is the PG-1410 handset, a slim bar-type phone aimed at stylish, trend conscious consumers. The handset, which is just 12.8 mm-thick, weighs only 75g and features a 330,000-pixel VGA camera, an FM radio, color display, MP3 ring tones and speakerphone, as well as SMS and e-mail applications.
Pantech is expected to sell about 1.7 million handsets in Mexico this year, with revenues of some US$200 million, and is currently ranked fourth in the market. Pantech’s plant in Mexico has the capacity to produce 2.4 million handsets a year and the company has projected over 30% growth next year in the Mexican market. The company is also committed to further expanding its operations in Colombia and Argentina.
America Movil, which has 73.8 million mobile subscribers across eleven Latin American countries, aims to expand its subscription base to 100 million people by 2007. The company has substantially expanded its presence in the region over the last year.
About Pantech:
Pantech, through its affiliates - Pantech Co., Ltd., Pantech&Curitel Communications, Inc. and Pantech C&I Inc - is ranked second in the South Korean domestic market and marked as the seventh largest mobile handset manufacturer in the world. Pantech is also recognized as one of the world’s fastest growing providers of mobile communications solutions. Pantech has been responsible for a number of breakthrough innovations in the mobile technology sector, including the introduction in 2004 of the world’s first fingerprint recognition camera phone, as well as award winning camcorder and MP3 phones. In May 2005, Pantech affiliate Pantech&Curitel Communications, Inc. announced the acquisition of SK Teletech Co., Ltd., the fourth largest handset manufacturer in the Korean market. SK Teletech was originally the handset-manufacturing arm of SK Telecom, number one mobile network operator in Korea. Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, Pantech and SK Telecom plan to collaborate in joint research and development initiatives and will work together in the global expansion of their respective businesses into overseas markets, The SKY brand, marketed by SK Teletech, is the most popular premium handset brand in Korea. In August 2005, to facilitate the goal of Pantech becoming one of the world’s top five mobile handset brands, Pantech Co. and SK Teletech were merged under the Pantech organization. Pantech collectively has about 5,000 employees and a total of 20 regional sales offices worldwide. Pantech - For more information on Pantech, please visit: http://www.pantech.com or http://www.curitel.com