Japanese electronics titan Toshiba Corp, the country's third-largest maker of washing machines, said on Monday it would outsource washing machine production for the first time to a Chinese manufacturer.
Toshiba holds about 20 percent of the domestic washing machine market but has lagged behind competitors such as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd and Sanyo Electric Co Ltd in setting up operations in China.
"We have not come to a decision about exact output figures or a starting date, but all the products will carry the Toshiba brand name," a Toshiba spokeswoman said.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun business daily said on Monday Toshiba aimed to produce about 500,000 washing machines a year through its joint venture with the Xiaoya Group in the eastern Shandong province, with output hitting one million by 2005.
Toshiba will provide parts and know-how, and use the Chinese manufacturer's existing facilities, it said.
Toshiba shares were down 2.35 percent at 623 yen in early trade, compared with a 1.12 percent fall by the key Nikkei-225 average
Since the beginning of the year, Toshiba shares have underperformed the Nikkei by almost seven percent because of a protracted slump in its semiconductor business.
(China Daily 08/06/2001)
