Panasonic Eyes $375M Investment In China As Others Try To Minimize Exposure

Panasonic Holdings Corp PCRFY will invest over 50 billion yen in China over three years to build and expand factories making home appliances for the local market.
Panasonic will bring its first new Chinese appliance factory in 19 years online in 2024, Nikkei Asia reports.
The Zhejiang province plant will be able to ship an annual 2 billion yuan ($290 million) worth of microwave ovens, rice cookers, and other small kitchen appliances.
Also Read: Dell Eyes Reducing Dependence On China - India, Latin America Likely To Be Beneficiaries, Analysts Say
Panasonic will build a new wing at a beauty appliance factory in Guangdong province and expand an air conditioner factory.
Panasonic will allow critical decisions to be made locally and develop products tailored for the Chinese market to boost sales.
The report further noted that Panasonic's appliance market share worsens in the single digits in China, where local players like Haier Group and Midea Group dominate.
With online shopping now mainstream in China, Panasonic will make more products available online and experiment with live commerce.
Panasonic eyes at least 7 million registered users on its official e-commerce platform by FY24, up from around 2 million.
Panasonic's China and Northeast Asia operating company registered sales of 832.4 billion yen for FY21. The report adds that Panasonic aims to lift this to 1 trillion yen in FY24.
China is the largest trading partner for Japan and an important market for Japanese companies, from Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE: TM) and Sony Group Corp SONY to Uniqlo, Bloomberg reports.
However, since the pandemic broke out in 2020, the Tokyo government urged companies to reduce their dependence on production and supply chains in China.
Tokyo and U.S. tensions with China hampered corporate investments and business decisions.
Price Action: PCRFY shares traded higher by 0.99% at $8.15 on the last check Friday.
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