UpdateApple to open Shenzhen R&D hub, boosting city’s plan to remake itself as China’s ‘Silicon Valley’

Apple announced Tuesday that it will open a research centre in Shenzhen to tap the local talent pool for writing computer software, bolstering the Chinese government’s plan to remake the city into a hub for fostering technology and innovation.

The iPhone and iPad maker, which counts China as its third-largest global market, is already supporting -- together with its contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology Co -- over 200,000 jobs between advanced manufacturing and an economy built around applications, Apple said in an emailed statement.

“The establishment of a new R&D centre in Shenzhen allows Apple to facilitate better communication with iOS developers and come up with better products that cater to local customers,” said Dr. Neil Wang, greater China president for Frost & Sullivan.

The plan, unveiled by Apple CEO Tim Cook in Shenzhen, will be the company’s second China research hub, following an announcement two weeks ago to build a 300 million yuan (US$44.65 million) facility in the Chinese capital to focus on computer hardware and software, audio and video equipment, consumer electronics, telecommunications products and other advanced technologies.

Kitty Fok, managing director for IDC China, said that an Apple centre in Shenzhen would “make sense,” since much of China’s technology talent is centred in the region.

The investment in research is also a show of “commitment” to the Chinese market, Fok said.

Encouraged by the Chinese government’s support for an economy led by innovation, young entrepreneurs are taking advantage of Shenzhen’s burgeoning internet technology industry to launch their businesses, according to Liang Yongsheng, an official of the city’s Science Technology and Innovation Committee.