In yet another example of an outside Southeast Asian major business looking at the impending arrival of the Asean Economic Community (AEC), the world’s fourth-largest computer maker, Acer Inc, has designated Thailand as its operations centre for Indochina (that is, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, as well Thailand and Myanmar).

The Taiwanese company believes it can reduce its operating costs by as much as 10 percent by promoting Thailand into the regional centre for most of mainland Southeast Asia.

Acer Inc has recognized the enormous growth potential in the IT sector across the Asean region, which boasts more than 300 million people and a US$2.3 trillion economy overall.

Acer Inc saw growth of 10 percent in its regional business in 2014 and a spokesperson for the company is quoted as saying he expects growth this year will be in the realm of 20 percent.

The biggest area for growth in terms of physical entities will be in the smartphone sector, although Acer Inc also believes the flat growth seen in 2014 for PC’s in Thailand will not be replicated this year. Instead, Acer believes the PC market in Thailand will grow in line with GDP during 2015. 

In 2014, the overall PC market sold around 2.5 million units, a 17 percent contraction, with Acer accounting for some 600,000 units. That equates to a seven percent drop and still left Acer as the leader in the Thai marketplace. In December 2014 an independent market researcher noted that Acer sold a record 38 percent of the market share across the country, thereby boosting its overall share of the 2014 market to 25 percent.

The company also has plans to go beyond just selling hardware, instead adding value to its products by way of innovative software and services. Acer recognizes the need to find new ways of obtaining consistent revenue.

Acer believes its corporate revenue will grow to 25 percent of its overall revenue this year and by 2017 this will have continued to surge until it reaches 50 percent.

While the hardware sector will remain the key driver of Acer revenue across Thailand, the company has established a new, dedicated unit to promote smartphones and tablets.

This division of the company is expected to increase revenue return to 20 percent of the overall sales for this year, a rise of just one percent on 2014.

Acer first established a foothold in Thailand two decades ago, and this is the first major upgrade of the company’s activities in that time.