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Motorola Leads Foreign Investors in Development of Western China
Motorola, the multinational telecom giant from the United States, announced here Tuesday that it will add 100 million US dollars worth of investment to the Leshan-Phoenix Semiconductor Company in southwest China's Sichuan Province.
This is Motorola's fourth additional investment in the western area of China in two years, said P. Y. Lai, president of Motorola (China) Electronics Ltd.
The investment will be used to set up a major plant manufacturing CMOS chips, Lai said, adding that the continuous investment in western China is based on profitable investment return and successful investment experience.
Motorola is confident of the prosperous future of the area,Lai said.
The Leshan-Phoenix Semiconductor Company, which was set up in 1995, is Motorola's first joint-venture in China. Motorola, one of the first multinational investors in western China, has so far invested a total of four million US dollars in Sichuan in setting up a joint-venture, a research and development center, a software development center and a branch company.
The company has also carried out cooperation projects with other provinces and autonomous regions in western China.
With 100 employees, the five-year old Motorola Chengdu branch in this capital city of Sichuan has become the fourth largest Motorola branch in China.
According to Lai, Motorola plans to build Leshan-Pheonix into the world's largest production base in the field of semiconductors.
Last year, more overseas investors began to focus on the large market in western China and set up plants or companies in the area.
Jenny Wang, chief representative of Motorola (China) Electronics Ltd., said that the company's investment in high-tech projects in western China results from the attraction of the big market, rich resources, abundant professionals and the local governments' cooperation.
Motorola's decision has proved to be wise, Wang said, citing the profitable Leshan-Pheonix as a good example.
With an initial sum of US$29 million, Leshan-Pheonix has conducted two phases of technology upgrading projects. With 1, 600 employees, double the number of five years ago, the total investment in the company's development during the past five years topped US$278 million, eleven times the initial amount.
Some people attribute Motorola's success to rich natural resources and cheap labor force in the area because the average wage of workers here is less than half the average wage of workers in coastal areas in east China.
But these factors are far from enough to ensure successful investment, said Leshan-Pheonix general manager Haif Le.
"Our experience is finding good partners, training local employees, developing domestic-made products and earning support from the local government and people," he said.
Lai believes that western China will become one of the world's most important markets in the 21st century, that any multinationals with strategic plans must not ignore.
If investors can make full use of the area's advantages, considerable profits are just at their fingertip, Lai said, adding that Motorola will continue to invest in western China.
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