2016 would be year of emerging markets

Intel Pakistan chief says company will focus on Pakistan as well

KARACHI: With Asia Pacific and Japan leading innovation, 2016 would be the year of emerging markets, Country Manager for Intel Pakistan Naveed Siraj told a group of journalists during the ‘Year End Thought Leadership Conference 2015’ on Thursday.

At an annual event, Intel Year End sessions recap key moments in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry, particularly the Intel world from the outgoing year and provide forecasts on technology for the new year.



Emerging markets will be the major focus of 2016 for the California-based technology giant, which manufactures semiconductor chips for computing devices and earns $53 billion in revenues.

“Over the next year, Intel’s goal will be to expand the stack of two-in-one offerings and improve affordability across different price points. In the meantime, feature phones - and increasingly, low-cost smartphones - will remain a vital entry point to technology in these markets,” it said.

The company says personalisation of the computing experience through sight, sound, and touch is another key trend that is set to crystalise in 2016. The outlook for digital penetration is also positive, with the increased scope of 3G, 4G, and 5G data networks encouraging more consumers to purchase mobile devices.



“We see a lot of traction towards the telecom sector, especially after 3G and 4G technology was rolled out in the country,” the Intel Pakistan’s chief said, adding the cellular operators are now finding new revenue streams to monetise the growth in mobile broadband.

Talking about desktop computers, Siraj said PC shipments have remained fairly stable this year, so it would be wrong to say that desktop is dying. “Yes, the form factor is shrinking as PCs are finding new form factors.”

Giving an example, Siraj said over 80% of televisions and other displays now come with HDMI-enabled technology. They can be converted to a fully functioning PC through Intel Compute Stick, he said.

Future plans

Intel’s operations in Pakistan are limited to the function of marketing and sales and whether the company plan to start manufacturing in the country still remains a key question.



“We are doing fine in application development,” Siraj said during the question-answer session. However, he said in order to bring indigenous manufacturing to Pakistan, there is a need to develop critical mass. “That is we need skilled human resource and that, too, in large numbers. We need engineers who believe in innovation and policies that encourage innovation.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th,  2015.

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