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TOKYO : Japan's Canon Inc. said Friday it planned to expand a factory in Taiwan to produce lenses for high-end digital cameras as the market grows across the world.
Canon said it would invest two billion yen (18.8 million US dollars) to expand the site in Taichung and create 600 jobs, bringing the total work force at the facility to 3,000.
"The continued growth of the global digital single-lens reflex market has led to a rapidly increasing demand for interchangeable lenses," the camera and office equipment maker said in a statement.
Construction is slated to begin this month with production to start in July 2009.
Canon currently manufactures the lenses in Japan, Malaysia and Taiwan.
Global sales of single-lens reflex cameras surged 43 per cent to 7.5 million units last year on the back of an increasing number of photo enthusiasts who choose them over compact digital cameras.
Canon forecasts to sell 29.4 million digital cameras this year, a 20 per cent rise compared to the previous year.
The company has set a goal of 50 percent of the global market in reflex cameras this year, compared with 45 per cent last year. Its chief competitor is fellow Japanese firm Nikon Corp.
- AFP/ms
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