Panasonic to invest $ 300 mn in India in 3 years

MUMBAI: Electronics major Panasonic India plans to invest $300-million and open more factories in the country over the next three years, a top company official said.

"In India, we have five factories and plan to open more in a period of three-years. We will continue to invest in the Indian market as we want to take opportunity of such times (of recession) when other markets are shying away," the company's Director (Operations and Planning) Arjun Balakrishnan said.

Panasonic plans to invest $300-million in the Indian market over the three years, he said.

Earlier, Panasonic unveiled its latest range of eco-friendly air-conditioners, priced between Rs 21,900-Rs 55,000. These were unveiled here by Miss World first runner-up, Parvathy Omanakuttan and would hit the markets by March.

"We have set aside $300-million for the Indian market. In the first year, we plan to expand in terms of our total outlets. In the second year, we plan to make a lot of investments while in the third, we would set up manufacturing capacities in India," Balakrishnan said.

Currently, Panasonic products are sold at 3,000 outlets across the country. The company plans to double this to 6,000 by next year.