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Furukawa to Raise China Fibre-optic Output
Japan's biggest optical parts maker, Furukawa Electric Co, said on Thursday it will increase its fibre-optic cable production in China in an aim to grab a 20 percent share of the growing Chinese market.
A spokesman for Furukawa, which last week struck a deal to buy US-based Lucent Technologies Inc's fibre-optic cable division, said the company would establish a new plant in Shaanxi province to increase output in China as part of its continuing global expansion.
The company will set up the plant, expected to be operational by next year, at a local joint venture in which it holds a 70 percent stake. It is expected to cost around 1.5 billion yen (US$12.06 million).
With the new plant, output capacity at the joint venture in Shaanxi province will be raised to 2.0 to 2.5 million km of cable a year from the current 500,000 km.
The spokesman said the new fibre-optic production target would not include output from two Chinese plants included in the deal reached last week between Furukawa, Corning Inc and Lucent, in which Corning acquired Lucent's interests in two Chinese joint ventures.
Furukawa Electric also plans to increase the number of workers at the Shaanxi joint venture to 400 from the current number of around 200.
The increased output would make the Chinese joint venture Furukawa Electric's third largest fibre-optic cable production base after joint ventures in the US and Brazil.
At 0032 GMT, shares in Furukawa were up 4.67 percent at 1031 yen, while the benchmark Nikkei average was up 1.64 percent.
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