Sumitomo Builds in China

OSAKA, Japan -- Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. (SEI) announced it started in January 2002 the construction of plants manufacturing optical fiber and optical cable in the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, China. Since the establishment in July 2001 of its optical fiber and cable production subsidiary, Sumitomo Electric Optical Fiber and Cable (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (SEFC), SEI has been applying to the Chinese government to increase the capital of this new company and was given approval in December. SEFC will manufacture ordinary single-mode fibers as well as loose-tube cables that are widely used in China and other parts of the world. Most of the optical cable manufacturers in China are procuring preforms or fibers from other companies. Using the high-quality preform of parent company SEI, SEFC can take advantage of the technological consistency in SE's fiber and cable manufacturing. Optical cables manufactured by the new company will be sold to major Chinese telecommunications carriers such as China Telecom and China Unicom. Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd.