Motorola Inc, a global leader in integrated communications, said Thursday it will continue to expand its business in China to sustain its growth and profitability.

Suffering from the slowdown in the telecom sector in Europe and the United States, Gene Delaney, executive vice-president of Motorola Inc, said the year 2003 is very complex but also dynamic.

"We positioned extremely well last year," he told reporters yesterday in Beijing, adding what Motorola did last year has laid a sound foundation for the company to grow this year.

Motorola, in the face of intense competition in the Chinese mobile phone market, kept its role as the number one handset marker, competing with other giants such as Nokia, Siemens, Sony Ericsson, TCL and Konka.

Competition lies in factors such as compelling design and engineering, distribution with intensified cooperation with partners, cost reduction as well as technological innovations.

Delaney vowed yesterday to maintain its large share of the mobile phone market by closely following the market trend.

To meet market demand, Motorola introduced a dozen of new handsets into the Chinese market in the latter half of last year.

"We are very actively in 3G testing... We see great opportunities here and in the emerging 3G handset market we are to keep our momentum," he said.

For the year 2004, Delaney said, Motorola is going to roll out several investment plans.

According to him, the company is to continue the establishment of a research and development company in Beijing.

It inked the cooperation deal with the Beijing municipal government last year.

Automobile-related electronics products and solutions will also be a target for Motorola.

Those products will be produced in Motorola's manufacturing base in Tianjin, he said.

"We also hope to work closely with Beijing and other cities as the preparatory works for Olympics in 2008 start now," he said.

Delaney said that the company is starting to penetrate into the home appliance industry by introducing high-definition television into the market.

"We will sell it first in the Asian market," he said, adding the TV is likely to be brought to the Chinese market within this quarter.

"We are to combine our advantage on cable business and digital settop box," he said.

Motorola is now teaming up with Hong Kong Proview Company to produce television.

In another development, adjustment, integration and innovation will top the agenda for Daniel Shih, the newly-appointed president of Motorola (China) Electronics Ltd.

"How to effectively adjust and integrate our market and technology are among my first few concerns," Shih told reporters yesterday in Beijing.

He was appointed as corporate vice president of Motorola and president of Motorola (China) Electronics Ltd (MCEL) on December 15.

Company sources said that by the end of October last year, Motorola has made a total investment of US$3.4 billion, the largest foreign investor in China.

(China Daily January 9, 2004)