Chinese PC maker Lenovo Group said it will supply equipment to US TV network NBC for 2006 Winter Olympic coverage in the first deal outside its home market since its purchase of IBM's PC assets.

Lenovo, the world's third-biggest PC maker, will lease computer equipment from IBM's ThinkCentre desktop and ThinkPad notebook lines to NBC for coverage of the 2006 games in Torino, Italy, according to a release issued late on Thursday.

No terms of the agreement were given. The deal is the first major one to be announced by Lenovo, the mainland's dominant PC seller with more than a quarter of the market, since its US$1.25-billion purchase of IBM's PC assets last month.

As part of that deal, the mainland company had to give up access to IBM's list of US government clients. Analysts and investors differ in their sentiment on the deal, calling it a necessary step for Lenovo to keep growing but voicing concern that execution could be difficult for a mainland firm with little experience outside its home market.

The deal with NBC, a unit of General Electric, reflects Lenovo's desire to demonstrate that it can retain IBM clients and also attract new ones in highly competitive Western markets like the United States and Europe.

Lenovo shares were unchanged at HK$2.475 in early trading yesterday in Hong Kong.

(China Daily June 4, 2005)