Langchao Group gave itself a new name in hopes it would help the nation's top software appliance supplier grab as much as 30 per cent of its sales from overseas markets by 2010.

The company, based in Jinan of East China's Shandong Province, yesterday changed both its name and its brand to Inspur, a combination of the words "inspire" and "spur."

Sun Peishu, Inspur's president and chief executive officer, said when he met foreign customers, he found it was often difficult and inconvenient for them to pronounce the names of his company and brand.

"That is a big handicap for us, if our customers can not even pronounce our name," said Sun.

So the company decided to scrap the name Langchao, which had been in use for 23 years, since its foundation.

In the past years, more and more Chinese companies are changing their names from Chinese pinyin to English as the first step towards the global expansion.

The biggest Chinese computer maker Lenovo Group, which acquired IBM's personal computer unit, changed its name from Legend.

Neusoft, the largest software and technology service exporter in China, also changed its brand image and logo last March, trying to facilitate the recognition of foreign customers.

Huang Yong, president of the domestic industry research house CCID Consulting Co Ltd, said these moves show Chinese technology companies have begun to warm up to the idea of moving into overseas markets.

He added that in most of the segments of China's technology market, the consolidation is almost over and the chance for dramatic growth is more and more difficult, so Chinese companies must go overseas to seek new growth engines and, more importantly, higher profits.

Sun said Inspur's sales in 2005 were 12.5 billion yuan (US$156 billion), with 10 per cent from overseas markets.

The business has formed five joint ventures with the South Korean firm LG Electronics, Swedish telecom equipment giant Ericsson, and US software behemoth Microsoft.

The world's largest software company invested US$25 million for 30 per cent shares of a software subsidiary of Inspur.

Sun said one strategy for his company in overseas expansion was to introduce its computers and taxation control machines to South America, Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe.

The company already invested in an industrial park in Venezuela with more than US$10 million last year to make computers there.

"We do not only want to sell products to overseas markets, but want to participate in the local industry," said Sun.

In its software outsourcing business, the company has been benefiting from a global strategic alliance with Microsoft and its active involvement in Japan.

With the help from Microsoft, Inspur got about US$10 million in contracts for outsourcing from the US software company, about half of its total revenues from software outsourcing.

However, Huang with CCID Consulting warned that the replacement of brand is a good and helpful start, but success in tapping global markets really comes from a strong team and a well-balanced allocation of financial, human and product resources, so there will be still a long way for many Chinese firms in global expansion.

(China Daily 04/19/2006 page10)