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US semiconductor company SigmaTel Inc. announced the opening of its engineering centre in Hong Kong. The semiconductor company's new facility will focus on design support and provide SigmaTel's Asian-based customers with a regional point of contact for product development.
The Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, John Rutherford, welcomed the company's investment in Hong Kong.
He said, "We are delighted to see another Texas-based high-technology company setting up in Hong Kong. For many years, Hong Kong has been important in the development of the electronics industry by offering versatile and experienced talent and advanced infrastructure. The addition of SigmaTel will certainly further strengthen Hong Kong's position as an Asian hub for the industry."
Headquartered in Austin, Texas, SigmaTel focuses on designing, developing and marketing mixed-signal ICs for portable and consumer audio applications.
The President and CEO of SigmaTel, Ron Edgerton, said that the new centre in Hong Kong will play a strategically important role for the company. The locally staffed engineering centre began operations on 1 November to serve SigmaTel customers throughout Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
According to Mr Edgerton, Asia accounts for over 90 percent of the company's sales. Extended support to these customers and to their extensive sales distribution channels has become an important part of SigmaTel's growth strategies.
He said, "With the fast-growing consumer electronics markets in Asia, there has been an increasing demand for system-level solutions that enable manufacturers to rapidly introduce and offer electronic products."
"Given Hong Kong's geographical location at the centre of Asia, we can enjoy access to the major markets in the region -- especially the North Asian market where most of our key customers are," said Mr Edgerton".
Founded in 1993, SigmaTel designs audio chips for devices, including portable compressed audio players, such as MP3 players, notebook and desktop PCs, DVD players, digital televisions, and set-top boxes. For more information about the company, please visit the website at http://www.sigmatel.com.
Invest Hong Kong is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government department charged with encouraging and facilitating foreign investment into the city by providing all the support needed to establish a business presence here. For more information, please visit the website at www.investhk.gov.hk.
Ends/Wednesday, November 17, 2004
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