Yamaha to set up IT production unit in China

Asian Economic News, May 13, 2002

TOKYO, May 10 Kyodo

Yamaha Corp. said Friday it will set up in mid-May a production unit for audiovisual equipment and information technology (IT)-related products in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, in a bid to strengthen its foothold in the growing Chinese market.

The wholly owned unit, Yamaha Electronics (Suzhou) Co., will supply the products mainly to the Chinese market, where a rapid growth can be expected in line with China's joining the World Trade Organization, the company said.

Yamaha, one of the world's largest manufacturers of musical instruments, has been aggressively diversifying into the audiovisual and IT product fields.

It established a sales unit for audiovisual products in Hong Kong in February 1996 and a sales unit for audiovisual and IT products in Shanghai in January 2001.

Yamaha said the Suzhou unit, whose establishment has been authorized by the Chinese government, will begin operating in March next year.

It will manufacture digital audiovisual and IT products as well as home-theater products, Yamaha said.

The products will be marketed by Yamaha Music & Electronics (China) Co., which the parent firm is also establishing this month in Beijing. Some of the products will be exported, Yamaha said.