The French aerospace industry is at Asian Aerospace '98 in greater strength than ever and relaxed about the economic turbulence which has hit the Asia-Pacific region.
"We believe the current economic crisis will be limited in time and will not prevent us from meeting our goals and developing new partnerships," says Jean-Paul Bechat, chairman of French industry group GIFAS.
In the short term, sales could dip "a few percentage points," says Bechat, who is also chief executive of the SNECMA group. "But we are convinced that Asia still has a very strong and dynamic potential for growth. Even if we have delays or cancellations, we will be back."
The Asia-Pacific region is worth about 10% of the French industry's $20-billion annual sales.
The French presence at the show includes a range of military and business aircraft together with 50 companies, 20% up on two years ago.
Source: Flight Daily News