US aviation major Boeing has promised to “compete for the dollars” this year in the Middle East despite an imminent war in the region. While the company anticipates a drop in commercial sales, it forecasts positive results for its defense division.
"The situation is too unpredictable to tell what exact impact there would be," said Boeing’s Vice President, Mark Kronenberg at a press conference at the International Defense Exhibition (IDEX 2003) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). “The commercial sector could suffer a dip while Boeing's defense wing could prosper in the long term.”
Boeing recorded $54.1 billion in revenues in 2002, of which $500 million was earned from sales in the Middle East. The region spend half of the total on commercial purchases and the other half on military acquisitions, reported AFP.
According to Kronenberg, Emirates Airlines is considering buying Boeing 767 tanker planes for midair refueling and is interested in upgrading its fleet of 30 Boeing Apache helicopters.
The arms market in the Middle East has been a lucrative industry since the Gulf’s failure in stopping Iraq from invading Kuwait in 1991. Since then, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have spent billions of dollars on arms purchases. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
