IBM to transfer global procurement arm to China

International Business Machines (IBM) Corp. will relocate the head office of its global procurement arm to the southern China's city of Shenzhen from Somers, New York, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

John Paterson, the company's chief procurement officer, said relocating the division's headquarters would increase efficiencies and cost savings, adding the move will benefit services world-wide without affecting jobs in other locations.

"We have a large customer and supply base in the U.S., in Europe and in Latin America," Paterson said. "This will help us on a global basis, not just in the local market."

The move signals a growing outward shift for IBM, one of the U. S.'s leading technology companies and the second-largest software provider in the world in terms of sales after Microsoft Corp, said the report.

China is increasingly a key market for many tech companies. In 2004, the country overtook the U.S. as the world's largest exporter of high-tech goods such as laptop computers, mobile phones and digital cameras, exporting 180 billion U.S. dollars in products compared with the U.S.'s 149 billion dollars, the report said.

Last year, IBM sold its struggling personal-computer business to Chinese PC maker Lenovo Group Ltd.

Source: Xinhua