SINGAPORE--14 Jun--PRNewswire - AsiaNet/InfoQuest KONE has appointed THIEN NAM, the leading elevator and escalator company in Vietnam, as its authorized distributor in Vietnam. The companies plan to deepen their cooperation in the future. The Vietnamese elevator market is growing rapidly, especially in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. In addition to locally financed residential and infrastructure developments, foreign companies are increasingly investing in Vietnam. The demand for elevators and escalators is expected to continue increasing. "We are pleased to start cooperation with KONE. Demand for machine-room-less elevators has continuously increased in Vietnam, and the KONE MonoSpace(R) machine-room-less elevator is an excellent solution to meet this demand," says Tran Tho Huy, Chairman and CEO of THIEN NAM. "In the recent years, we have been looking for ways to expand our presence in Vietnam," comments Thomas Hietto, Managing Director of KONE Asia South. "THIEN NAM is an experienced market leader with a well-established brand and presence. By combining our strengths, we can provide our customers with improved service in this exciting market." THIEN NAM is the leading elevator supplier in Vietnam with a new equipment market share of approximately 29 percent; it expects to deliver some 500 units in 2006. The company has approximately 2,500 units in its maintenance base. THIEN NAM's head office and factory are located in Ho Chi Minh City, and it has an extensive sales and service network throughout Vietnam. THIEN NAM also exports to Cambodia. KONE is one of the world's leading elevator and escalator companies founded in Finland in 1910. It provides its customers with industry-leading elevators and escalators and innovative solutions for their maintenance and modernization. KONE also provides maintenance of automatic building doors. With approximately 800 service centers around the world, KONE delivers over 30,000 new elevators and escalators annually and has a maintenance base of 550,000 elevators and escalators and 250,000 automatic doors. In 2005, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 3.2 billion and about 27,000 employees. Its class B shares are listed on the Helsinki Exchanges. http://www.kone.com SOURCE KONE Corporation /CONTACT: Thomas Hietto, Managing Director of KONE Asia South, Singapore, +65-6424-6234, [email protected] / /Web site: http://www.kone.com / --Distributed by AsiaNet ( www.asianetnews.net )--