Sony to expand R&D center in China

[dArKeR]

BLOOMBERG

Sony Corp said it will expand its research and development center in Shanghai and plans to have 1,000 designers to better serve local tastes.

"The fast growth of the Chinese market will test our ability to react," said Sony president Kunitake Ando in a statement released before a press conference at the opening of a new showroom in Shanghai.

Sony has invested US$200 million in China so far this year, the statement said.

Sony is trying to reverse a 23 percent net income drop in its last fiscal year by introducing products such as digital cameras and DVD recorders, and expanding into emerging markets like China. Sony said it expects China sales, which reached US$1.7 billion, or about 2.5 percent of total revenue, in the year to March 31 to reach ?1 trillion (US$9.2 billion) in fiscal 2008.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/worldbiz/archives/2004/06/24/2003176348