Sun to double the size of China center

HONG KONG: Sun Microsystems will double the size of its software development center in Beijing over the next year, raising the total headcount to about 300 engineers, the head of the center said.

Sun opened the center two years ago, and currently uses it as part of its worldwide network for software development.

The center is also the main design facility for the Netscape browser, which Sun develops under a license from AOL Time Warner, said Li Gong, the center's managing director.

He said the Beijing facility now costs about US$10 million a year to operate, but that will climb to about US$15 million with the expansion.

"This is a company-wide research and development center, just like sites in the U.S.," he said, adding that Sun has a similar center in India. "We cover the entire Sun product line."

Sun is one of a growing number of western companies to open software development centers in China to take advantage of the market's relatively low costs and well-trained workforce.

Other companies with software centers in the country include Microsoft, IBM and Oracle.

© Reuters