ZTE to invest RMB 6 bln in Xi'an facility

Oct. 7, 2008 (China Knowledge) - ZTE Corporation<000063>, China's largest listed telecoms manufacturer, will establish a R&D and production base in Xi'an with a total investment of RMB 6 billion, according to the company's statement filed with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange today.

ZTE has signed the investment agreement with the management commission of Xi'an Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone on building the new facility, which is expected to be constructed in eight years.

The Xi'an base will focus on the homegrown 3G TD-SCDMA communication equipments as well as other 3.5G and 4G technologies and related products.

The annual output value of the new facility is estimated to be RMB 18 billion, of which RMB 16 billion will be contributed by hardware products and RMB 2 billion from software products.

Upon completion, the Xi'an facility will be ZTE's third largest R&D center in the country, following Shanghai and Nanjing.

The project is still subject to the approval of ZTE's shareholders.