HP to invest $1 b in Singapore

SINGAPORE: U.S. computer and printer maker Hewlett-Packard Co Ltd said on Tuesday it will invest US$1 billion in Singapore over the next five years to expand its manufacturing, including of high-end computer servers.

The world's second-largest computer maker said it would shift part of the production of its high-end Superdome servers out of the United States to Singapore, in a bid to save costs and speed delivery times for its Asia Pacific customers.

HP's investment will be a boost for Singapore's electronics industry, which accounts for over half the city's non-oil exports but has been declining as factories shift to lower cost countries like China.

Paul Chan, managing director for HP Asia Pacific, said the $1 billion would be used to boost production capacity, buy new machines and train staff. It employs 6,000 people in Singapore.

"China and Korea are two of the strongest growth countries in the world for Superdomes," Chan said.

He added that the move will result in "sizeable cost savings" for HP, but declined to reveal figures.

The refrigerator-shaped Superdome, which weigh up to 2,000 kg and costs between $300,000 and $9 million to set up, allows big corporations to run multiple operating systems on one platform and supports large-scale applications and databases.

HP has installed over 500 Superdomes in Asia Pacific in the last two to three years, and customers include Singapore Airlines Ltd, South Korea's SK Telecom Co, as well as memory chips maker and electronics giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.

(C) Reuters