Channelnews : asus bows to pressure pulls out of supplying russia, but not lenovo

PC notebook and component manufacturer ASUS has bowed to pressure, announcing that they are stopping shipments to Russia who has started a war with Ukraine, Chinese brand Lenovo is still

operating in Russia despite calls for the business to stop supplies. ChannelNews understands that the Taiwanese Government applied pressure on ASUS management who up until our story

yesterday, had resisted pulling out of the Russian market, where the Company holds more than 15% of the notebook market. They were also supplying networking and PC components along with

monitors into the Russian market via distributors who are now facing a major shortage of supplies. The Company said that shipments to Russia are at an “effective standstill” and that it

abides by international regulations, after a Ukraine minister asked ASUS to stop supplying Russia. Yesterday we revealed that Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and minister

of digital transformation, tweeted a letter on to ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih calling on the company to end its business in Russia. After consulting with the Taiwanese Government ASUS

management issued a statement claiming that they were “deeply concerned about the growing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine”. “ASUS routinely abides by all international regulations, and this

situation – combined with complex challenges across supply chain, logistics and banking, plus other factors – has created an effective standstill of shipments to the Russian market,” it

added. The company will donate $1.36 million to the Taiwanese relief agency, which is in charge of humanitarian donations for Ukraine, it said. “We hope that peace will be restored soon, and

timely humanitarian aid will reach everyone in distress.” Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua, asked about the letter, said Taiwan stands with other democracies and has taken action

against Russia, but refused to comment about their discussions with ASUS. ASUS has faced calls on its social media channels both in Taiwan Europe and Australia for a boycott after the letter

was tweeted. ASUS has a Russian subsidiary similar to what they have in Australia. A Taiwanese investment consultant estimates that Russia accounted for a significant share of ASUS’s sales.

The Russian PC market grew in the 4th quarter of 2021 by 10.7% in unit terms compared to the same period in 2020. In total, 1.9 million desktop and laptop PCs were delivered, according to

IDC. The growth was due to entry-level and mid-range models, sold into the market in November-December 2021. In the last quarter Lenovo had 18.5% of the market and ASUS 15.6%. About Post

Author David Richards David Richards has been writing about technology for more than 30 years. A former Fleet Street journalist, he wrote the Award Winning Series on the Federated Ships

Painters + Dockers Union for the Bulletin that led to a Royal Commission. He is also a Logie Winner for Outstanding Contribution To TV Journalism with a story called The Werribee Affair. In

1997, he built the largest Australian technology media company and prior to that the third largest PR company that became the foundation company for Ogilvy PR. Today he writes about

technology and the impact on both business and consumers.