Motorola steps up investment in China

SCHAUMBURG, ILL.-based Motorola Inc. is investing $1.9 billion to expand production of electronic chips and cellular phones in China. The company plans to establish two new facilities in the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA), a 4,000-square-mile zone that was granted preferential

According to company leaders, Motorola's operations will represent one of the largest integrated semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the world and the most advanced in China. One plant will focus on chip production for automobile electronics and consumer products, while the other will serve as a cell-phone manufacturing plant. Employment at the two facilities is expected to reach 2,400 by the year 2002, double the number presently employed by Motorola in the area. Last year, China accounted for 10 percent of Motorola's revenues.