VTech will stay on mainland despite wage cost
Labour expense in other countries is also rising, sometimes higher, says cordless phone maker
Despite rising labour costs, VTech Holdings will keep its manufacturing on the mainland for the next five years, said the Hong Kong-listed company's chairman Allan Wong Chi-yun.
It is also the world's biggest maker of electronic learning products. All the company's factories are in Dongguan, Guangdong province.
"Though labour costs have increased over the last few years, China still remains the most desirable place to manufacture products," he said.
"Though there has been a 20 per cent increase per year in labour costs in China, other countries like Vietnam and Thailand have increased their labour costs too, sometimes more than China," Wong said
VTech's labour costs and manufacturing overheads will increase further from the first half, Wong predicted.
The global economic environment remains challenging because of uncertainties in the US and austerity measures that are crimping consumer demand in Europe, he said.