AST Research Sells 1,500 PCs to Hong Kong

IRVINE —  AST Research Inc. scored big Thursday with a deal to sell personal computers worth $6 million to the Hong Kong government.

AST will supply 1,500 of its IBM-compatible personal computers to the Hong Kong government over two years. AST claims to be the leading seller of personal computers in the Far East outside of Japan.

The purchase marks the largest personal computer order ever by the Hong Kong government and the third time it has chosen AST. Since 1987, Hong Kong has purchased 2,300 AST systems.

Joel Don, an AST spokesman, said the $6-million order reflects AST’s new emphasis on international markets, which account for 35% of the company’s sales. AST wants to boost overseas sales to 50% over the next four years.

AST also broke ground on the international front earlier this month when it announced its first direct sale of computers to the Soviet Union.

While the 100-machine order through a ComputerLand store was small, the company is hoping to benefit in the future from the opening of the Soviet and Eastern European markets.

Don said AST first entered the Asian market in 1983 with sales of its memory expansion boards. Since that time, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore have become major international markets, accounting for 13% of total sales.

In addition, AST in August will begin manufacturing personal computers that are compatible with both IBM Corp. and NEC Corp. computing standards for sale in the fast-growing Japanese market. The Irvine computer maker plans to market the machines under its own name or under the Sharp Corp. name through a distribution agreement with the Japanese electronics giant.

Philip Wong, managing director of AST’s Asian subsidiary, said the Hong Kong government selected AST’s computers because they can be upgraded to more powerful processors in the future.

The AST computers will be used by the Royal Hong Kong Police Force and the government’s immigration, trade and information service agencies. The sale will be reflected in AST’s current fourth quarter, which will end June 30.