Area Development
Sony Corporation has announced plans to build a new factory in Singapore, producing lithium-ion polymer batteries. It is the company's first such plant in Southeast Asia, and the first facility of its kind in Singapore. According to company officials, Sony will invest approximately US$100 million to build the plant on the same site as an existing Sony facility in Tuas, with plans to produce up to 8 million batteries per month upon full production in August 2008. The company expects to hire approximately 500 workers at the new factory. Lithium-ion polymer batteries are rechargable and used to power a number of electronic devices, including cell phones, PDAs, and laptop computers. Yutaka Nakagawa, Sony's executive deputy president, cites Singapore's "skilled engineering resources, excellent infrastructure, as well as its ideal location for shipment of products worldwide" as factors in the company's decision to invest there.