WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2003
Toshiba to invest $1 bn to boost China output
REUTERS
BEIJING: Japanese electronics giant Toshiba said on Wednesday it will invest $1 billion in China over the next few years to boost production of computer chips, screens and mobile telephones.
Nobumasa Hirata, the firm's chief China representative, told Reuters on the sidelines of an investment forum that Toshiba aimed to take advantage of one of the world's largest consumer markets.
"This is a mid-term investment plan," he said. "Usually we plan for the next three to five years."
Toshiba, Japan's largest chipmaker, has already invested $1 billion in China to manufacture household appliances, chips, computer laptops and handsets, a company statement said.
Sales in China would be more than $2 billion this year, a three percent rise over 2002, on the back of strong demand for television sets, laptops and chips, Hirata said.
"First, the government's policy to stimulate domestic demand has expanded the market. Second, as other multinational companies come to China, demand for our products will rise," he said.
The company has said its global production base for electronics in eastern China will start operations this April.
Japan's electronics makers have been moving factories to China steadily to take advantage of both low costs and a fast-growing market.
China, the world's largest mobile telephone market, surpassed Japan in 2002 to claim the world's second-largest Internet population after the United States.
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