Deutsche Leasing, Germany's largest leasing company, is poised to invest 140 million euros (US$168 million) in China by 2008, in a bid to jumpstart its expansion into the world's fastest growing major economy.

The German company, which is the first wholly foreign-owned subsidiary of a European leasing company in China, opened its offices in Shanghai last month, following Beijing's decision to allow complete foreign ownership in the sector last March. The company will invest at least 20 million euros (US$24 million) by the end of September, and is expected to expand its presence into other parts of the country over the next several years.

Logistics centre

Swedish home furnishing retailer IKEA said it will invest US$150 million to build a logistics centre in Shanghai's southern Fengxian County. The facility will be IKEA's 28th logistics centre, and will have a capacity of 200,000 cubic metres. IKEA currently buys 18 per cent of its products in China, and plans to increase that to 25 per cent within three years.

On paper

International Paper (IP) and Shandong Sun Paper Ltd have agreed to form a 50-50 joint venture for coated board production in Yanzhou, East China's Shandong Province.

The joint venture includes two coated paperboard machines, and construction of a third coated paperboard machine, which should be completed in late 2007. IP's investment in the venture is expected to be approximately US$140 million, and includes IP's share of the investment in the new paper machine.

LCD venture

Syntax-Brillian Corp, a US high-definition TV manufacturer, said last week it had signed an agreement with five Asian companies to form a joint venture that will produce liquid crystal display TVs on the Chinese mainland.

The financial terms of the agreement, which involves companies in Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, had not been disclosed. The joint venture, Nanjing Huahai Display Technology Co, will manufacture LCD TVs in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province. It will also conduct research and will market and distribute Syntax-Brillian's Olevia brand TVs in the Asia-Pacific region, the company said in a statement.

New centre

Information technology giant IBM opened a new global services delivery centre in Shanghai recently. The company said the facility will be a core part of IBM's worldwide integrated services delivery network.

The 84,000-square metre centre will initially house a staff of 700 in Shanghai's Waigaoqiao Bonded Zone. It is certified at CMMI level 5, the highest level for process maturity and quality in software development.

Store expansion

Time Warner Inc's studio division Warner Bros plans to open approximately 200 stores in China over the next few years to meet rising demand for branded merchandise throughout the country.

Warner Bros opened its first store in Shanghai last month. The outlet is operated by a subsidiary of Hutchison Harbour Ring, which is Hutchison Whampoa Ltd's toy production unit. The companies plan to open stores on the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong and Macau. Expansion will start off in Shanghai's key commercial districts and then move on to other cities such as Beijing, followed by South China's Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

R D centre

Mobile phone maker Motorola set up a new research and development (R D) centre last month in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province.

Motorola has established 17 R D centres in China with more than 1,800 employees since its first facility was constructed in 1993. The new centre was designed to provide Chinese operators with local access to Motorola's comprehensive network technologies, as well as to promote the growth of China's wireless communications industry by tapping local talent and driving network innovation.

Asian headquarters

Global technology service giant EDS will set up its Asian headquarters in Shanghai, providing as many as 1,000 new jobs.

EDS will separate the Asian sector of its Asia-Pacific operations, which are headquartered in Sydney, from its businesses in Australia and New Zealand. One key reason behind this decision is because many of the company's multinational clients have already established operations in China. EDS, the world's second largest technology service provider after IBM, needs to build a strong local team to serve its customer base on the Chinese mainland.

(China Daily 04/03/2006 page3)