Al Masa ITD launches new distribution network in Saudi

Al Masa IT Distribution (Al Masa ITD), a leading regional distributor of IT hardware and networking solutions, has announced that it has recently launched a new distribution network within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as part of its strategy to contribute to the continued growth of the estimated $2.5bn Saudi IT market, which is expected to top $3.9bn within the next three years or a compound annual growth rate of nine per cent.

Al Masa ITD also announced its participation in GITEX KSA 2008, one of the world's premier IT and computer shows that is being held from April 20-24, 2008, to showcase the company's world-leading product lines, highly responsive supply chain service and dedicated in-country customer services. Al Masa ITD's exhibition at GITEX KSA 2008 will be at stand number 233.

"Saudi Arabia accounts for about 40% of IT expenditure in the whole Middle East region, thus it is imperative that we bolster our presence and network channels to maintain our status as the top choice of resellers in this highly critical market. Our Saudi office comprises a team of highly competent professionals, who have been carefully picked and trained to handle the unique demands of our customers in the Kingdom," said Frank Sheu, CEO, Al Masa ITD.

Sheu disclosed that Al Masa ITD's expansion initiatives in Saudi have been endorsed by its key vendor partners, including Acer, AMD, HP, Avaya, Juniper, Seagate and ViewSonic, among others. Appointed as head of Al Masa ITD's Riyadh-based Saudi Arabia subsidiary is Radwan Basheer, a 12-year industry veteran who is charged to lead a staff of 40 professional experts in various related fields such as sales, product management, finance, customer service, logistics and operations.

Basheer commented: "Al Masa ITD will continue to deliver superior services and competitive pricing to complement the top-of-the-line brands of our partner vendors. We have prepared thoroughly for this ambitious push into this highly lucrative market, which will provide us a great opportunity to expand both our business operations and our geographical coverage of the region."

Al Masa ITD's expansion in Saudi seeks to take advantage of the huge growth potential of the rapidly expanding market, which recently received a major boost from the government through $32bn worth of infrastructure projects, including an IT park in Riyadh. Saudi also features an increasing annual per-capita expenditure, which is currently pegged at about USD330, fuelled by a large population of young Saudis, regional economic boom, buoyant real estate sector, huge disposable income and growing popularity of IT-enabled products and services.