"Beijing is going to become the capital of telecommunications in the Asia-Pacific area in the coming decade and this will be a very dedicated operation,'' said Ernst Mullner, global general manager of Philips Speaker System (PPS) with its headquarters in Vienna.

"Our main customers are in China and the new operation will enable us to gain more advantages in supply and distribution,'' he added.

PPS Beijing Company, the only production centre of mobile phone speakers besides its headquarters in Vienna, will get a total investment of US$16.7 million before 2005.

The company has two production lines running at present and there will be five more by 2004, while the production capacity will grow from 20 million units by the end of this year to 120 million, all of which will be sold in the Chinese market.

Mullner also said that as well as the investment of cash, Philips would also bring the most up-to-date technology of PPS to China and tap the brain force of Chinese engineers.

"The plant here will be 100 percent the same as our headquarters in Vienna in terms of competence, technology and quality,'' he said.

Last year, Philips sold about 7 million mobile phone speakers in China. This year, China will witness the emergence of 80 million new mobile phone users, which will provide plenty of opportunities for Philips, according to executives of the company.

According to recent reports of the Ministry of Information Industry, mobile phone users have grown from 67 million at the end of 2000 to more than 100 million.

Philips, as a major player in the world's mobile phone market, has gained about 6 percent of the market in China with its handset base in Shenzhen and two component plants in Shanghai and Beijing.

(China Daily 05/29/2001)