ECONOMICS REPORT - Lenovo of China Moves Up in the Computer

ECONOMICS REPORT - Lenovo of China Moves Up in the Computer World with IBM Purchase
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Friday, December 17, 2004

I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Next year, if all goes as planned, the largest maker¹ of personal computers in Asia will become the third largest in the world.

Lenovo Group Limited of China is buying the personal computer business of the American company I.B.M. International Business Machines brought millions of people their first P.C.'s. Now it is getting out of the business of selling them. Aggressive competition in the industry has cut the profit in sales.

The deal is worth one thousand seven hundred fifty million dollars. This includes five hundred million dollars in debt that Lenovo will take over from I.B.M. Lenovo will be third in worldwide sales behind the American companies Dell and Hewlett-Packard.

Ten thousand I.B.M. employees will go to work for Lenovo. The American company already has thousands of employees in China. I.B.M. will hold a nineteen percent share in Lenovo. And I.B.M. will continue to offer services, the most profitable part of its personal computer business.

I.B.M. helped create the market for personal computers in nineteen eighty-one with a machine that became very popular. The computer used an operating system made by a small company, Microsoft. Another small company provided the microprocessor², the brains of a computer. That was Intel. Intel and Microsoft grew highly profitable.

But soon, less costly³ computers appeared. I.B.M. saw its market share shrink. In the end, it stopped making its personal computers itself.

The Gartner research group estimates that I.B.M. had a five percent share of the world P.C. market this year. Lenovo had two percent. But it controls one-fourth of the Chinese market, the largest in Asia. Lenovo was formerly⁴ known as Legend Computer. Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences began the company in nineteen eighty-four.

Chinese companies are moving to expand their international business holdings. This purchase is one of the biggest yet. Lenovo will be able to use the I.B.M. name for five years.

Lenovo will have the headquarters of its personal computer business in New York, with operations in Beijing and Raleigh, North Carolina. Stephen Ward⁵ will be the chief executive officer and Yang Yuanqing will be the chairman. Officials expect the deal to be made final by the middle of next year.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. I'm Gwen Outen.

1 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

2 microprocessor   

n.微信息处理机

参考例句：

• I've got a typerwriter with a microprocessor.我有一台装有微处理机的打字机。
• I decided to write a program for a microprocessor.我决定为微处理机编制一套程序。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

5 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。