Philips Heads to Cheaper West China, Following the Lead of Foxconn

The electronics firms Philips is following the lead of Foxconn in setting up facilities in Chengdu, in west China. It’s part of a growing shift towards China’s cheaper inner/south-western areas, which have cheaper land and labour than the main industrial areas around Shenzhen or Shanghai.

The announcement today from Philips signals the start of huge new campus and regional HQ in Chengdu High-tech Zone, making it a neighbor of Taiwanese OEM, Foxconn. Fellow Taiwanese manufacturer, Acer, also recently decided to ‘go west’, with a new plant in nearby Chongqing.

Philips already has numerous plants across China, and a main China-area HQ and ‘Open Innovation Campus’ (pictured, above) in Shanghai, so the upcoming Chengdu facility will focus on local sales, tech support and online services, a training center, and a testing plant for its Lighting Department.