Oct. 13, 2006 – By BLOOMBERG NEWS – The New York Times
I.B.M. Division Moves to China

I.B.M. has moved its global procurement headquarters to southern China from the suburbs of New York City to “capitalize on emerging market opportunities.”

I.B.M., based in Armonk, N.Y., spends 30 percent of its $40 billion annual procurement in Asia, the company said in a statement yesterday, confirming the move to Shenzhen that was first announced to suppliers in May. This is the first time that I.B.M., the world’s biggest computer services company, has moved the headquarters of one of its largest divisions to China.

Companies like I.B.M. and Microsoft are expanding in China to take advantage of lower costs and to gain market share in the world’s most populous nation.

The chief procurement officer for I.B.M., John Paterson, relocated from Somers, N.Y., and started work in Shenzhen yesterday, said Amanda Garland, an I.B.M. spokeswoman.

Demand for software and services across Asia is growing, and the company wants to develop new markets and suppliers to meet the demand, I.B.M. said.

Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

This entry was posted on Friday, October 13th, 2006 at 9:18 am and is filed under China News Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.