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TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s BenQ Corp. staked out the beginnings of what it hopes will be a key component to its development as a globally-recognized brand name. BenQ Mobile was officially launched as the revamped combination of the company’s old mobile phone unit and its acquisition of Siemens Mobile Devices Division in June. The new company has an estimated market share of 5.2 percent, ranking it No. 6 among global cellphone makers. With the deal, BenQ potentially doubles its annual revenue to nearly $11 billion, picks up intellectual property covering GSM, GPRS and 3G technologies and takes on much-needed engineering talent from Siemens, including R&D centers in Germany, Denmark and China. The first challenge for BenQ Mobile will be streamlining its operations. In June, Siemens basically gave the troubled division to BenQ to stem the flow of red ink. The unit was losing more than $1.5 million a day and had racked up losses of about $650 million during the past 12 months, according to analysts. With more than 7,000 employees, and a manufacturing presence in Germany, analysts are eager to see where BenQ Mobile can trim fat. During the acquisition, BenQ declined to say whether it would lay off factory workers in Germany, but that is expected, especially since BenQ’s manufacturing operations are in China. BenQ said it will launch new, co-branded phones in the spring of 2006. As part of the acquisition, BenQ is allowed to use the Siemens name for 18 months as well as a combined brand for a transition period of up to five years. Clemens Joos will serve as chief executive of BenQ Mobile, while Jerry Wang becomes chairman. Wang is currently executive vice president and chief marketing officer of BenQ Corp.
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