Tokyo-based HOYA Corporation is shutting down its Chinese subsidiary to transfer its lens-unit manufacturing operations to a Pentax camera factory in the Philippines. HOYA acquired Pentax Corp. earlier this year.
With the move, HOYA aims to enhance productivity and speed up the delivery of products to customers. HOYA appears to be struggling to make a profit despite the growth of the digital camera market globally.
The global market for compact and single-lens reflex digital cameras is forecast to grow 12 per cent on the year to 111.94 million units in 2008 as markets in Brazil, Russia, India and China expand.
Just last week, Hoya also announced that it would close its Shanghai unit and transfer its lens operations to Vietnam.
[Site: Hoya.co.jp]