Good news for NEC, a good AMAT customer.
Stan
11/28 00:07
NEC, Matsushita May Develop Advanced Phones for China (Update1)
By Minoru Matsutani
quote.bloomberg.com
Tokyo, Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- NEC Corp. and Matsushita Communication Industrial Co. are in talks to develop advanced mobile phone handsets in China, the biggest cellular phone market.
``China is a very important market, thus we and Matsushita are discussing ways to boost sales there,'' NEC spokeswoman Akiko Shikimori said in an interview.
Japan's two biggest mobile phone makers plan to set up a Chinese venture this year to develop, make and sell cellular phones capable of accessing high-speed Internet services in China, Nikkei English News said, without citing sources. The duo plans to sell the phones in China by 2003, the report said. NEC's Shikimori said the details of the plan haven't been set.
The venture would extend the duo's commitment to compete against giants such as Nokia Oyj and Motorola Inc. in the biggest mobile phone market. Both Japanese companies expect China, with 136 million cell phone subscribers as of October, will be a large market for services enabling e-mail, photo and movie data transmission via mobile phones.
Chinese mobile-phone operators such as China Mobile Communications Corp. will be invited to take a stake in the venture, the report said.
NEC wouldn't confirm the report.
``Nothing concrete, as mentioned in the media report, has been decided,'' Shikimori said.
NEC and Matsushita agreed in August to jointly develop high- speed mobile phones. |
