HP to develop cloud products in China

BEIJING, CHINA: PC-maker Hewlett-Packard plans to develop cloud computing products in China to sell globally, chief executive Leo Apotheker said, as global tech companies eagerly tap the booming Chinese market.

Apotheker also said that a dispute with Oracle Corp over Intel Corp's Itanium microprocessor for servers would have little impact on its partnerships.

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HP and Oracle became intense rivals after Oracle's purchase of Sun Microsystems pushed it firmly into the server hardware market, in which it previously cooperated with HP.

Both Intel and HP are committed to customers who have invested in HP-Itanium systems, he said. Oracle said it will end development of database software for those systems, and HP has filed a lawsuit to try to force Oracle to continue developing such products.

HP this week announced that its Personal Systems Group will establish a China headquarters in Shanghai, to develop hardware and Internet products to allow people to access cloud computing more easily and cheaply.

"China is not only a huge market, it's also a great place to develop products and develop R&D," Apotheker said at a news conference in Beijing.

Apotheker is leading a group of some 20 senior HP executives on a visit to China, a crucial market to HP's growth strategy.

HP has gone through a management reorganisation in recent weeks, with some senior executives leaving and others being reassigned or taking on additional responsibilities.

The reorganisation will not entail any layoffs, Apotheker said. "The answer is no," he told Reuters, "and you can quote me on it."

Todd Bradley, head of HP's Personal Systems Group which includes personal computers, was put in charge of developing HP's China strategy.

Bradley told reporters that he wants to accelerate growth in in both China's major cities and in rural areas.

HP is set to introduce its tablet computer in the United States on Friday, and is developing a Chinese-language version for Chinese customers, Bradley said.

The tablet will have multitasking capabilities and industrial-strength security that he said would set it apart from rivals in the hotly contested market.