Thursday, April 29, 2004
Ericsson plans 6th R&D unit in China
Press Trust of India Beijing, April 29
Swedish telecommunications equipment giant Ericsson will establish its sixth research and development centre in China to further tap the booming mobile telecom market in the country.
The new R&D centre, to be located in Chengdu, capital of southwestern Sichuan province, will initially develop parts for radio base station products for the global market.
It will also act as Ericsson's purchasing base in the province, President and CEO of Ericsson, Carl Henric Svanberg said.
"China plays a key role in Ericsson's global business development in terms of market, supply and R&D," Svanberg said.
"Chengdu, as a pivotal city in southwestern china, plays a key role in boosting the region's economy and industry development. This, along with the rich pool of talent we have found here, make Chengdu an ideal place to start this R&D centre in Southwestern China," he said.
Svanberg said that manufacturing of the products developed at this centre was expected to be done with local partners in the province.
Ericsson has already established R&D facilities in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Qingdao and Dalian. It now has four wholly-owned companies, 10 joint ventures and 26 representative offices across China, with its full-line production capacity located in Beijing, Nanjing and Chongqing.
The company's investment in R&D in China will hit $500 million between 2001 and 2005, Svanberg said.
© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2004.