We are growing in Asia, says Dell

KUALA LUMPUR: Computer giant Dell said on Tuesday that it would hire 1,000 Malaysians to operate its first global IT support centre outside of the United States.

Dell's CEO Kevin Rollins said the centre at Malaysia's high-tech hub of Cyberjaya south of Kuala Lumpur would be operational by the end of the year with an initial 600 staff handling 24-hour IT support and maintenance.

"The Cyberjaya facility not only shows our commitment to Asia and Malaysia but as we look at the global business... it's going to help Dell's business conditions globally," he told reporters.

Dell currently has 5,500 employees in Malaysia. The new IT centre, which will provide internal support to Dell staff globally, is targeted to expand to some 1,000 staff in five years time, the company said.

Its manufacturing plant in the northern city of Penang produces nine million units of computers annually, and Rollins said he hoped to act on its capacity to expand production.

"We have this capability to expand by another 30-40 percent at our manufacturing facility," he said.   

Rollins said Dell's Asian market share was doing well, and that they were "satisfied and happy with the way our business has been doing".   

"We are growing in Asia. China is growing fast, we have announced a new factory in India, in Chennai," he said.

In 2006 US computer maker Hewlett-Packard extended its lead as the world's top personal computer vendor late last year, pressuring arch-rival Dell which suffered from a slow third quarter.