Oppo, a leading smartphone brand, is set to build a new research and development centre in Chinese town of  Chang’an in the Guangdong Province, as the company looks to boost its R&D capabilities.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, Oppo also revealed plans to spend RMB10 billion ($1.46 billion) on R&D this year.

The new facilities, along with the company’s existing R&D centres, will form a robust research engine that powers its continued innovation for the emerging era of intelligent connectivity, said a company statement.

The Chang’an R&D centre, one of Dongguan’s major initiatives to drive the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, is expected to house 5,000 R&D personnel upon completion, it said.

As a global R&D engine for the company, Oppo’s new Chang’an R&D centre will be responsible for the R&D, design and testing of a range of smart devices, including smartphones and IoT products.

The R&D will support Oppo’s mission of providing cutting-edge smart devices and services for the era of intelligent connectivity.

Andy Shi, president, Oppo - Middle East and Africa (MEA), said: “We are very pleased to officially break ground on our new Chang’an R&D centre.”

“It will play a strategic role in our R&D endeavours, further enhancing the core technological capabilities of the company and accelerating the implementation of our R&D strategy and objectives,” he said.

“The project will be built to the highest industrial standards and we will spare no effort in making the new centre a masterpiece initiative in the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Corridor, helping to bolster the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area,” Shi added.

As a leading technology company in the Greater Bay Area of China, Oppo has been actively participating in the development of high-tech industrial clusters in the region. In February, Oppo announced the construction of an intelligent manufacturing hub in Dongguan Chang’an New District.

Upon completion, the hub is slated to be used for the production and quality control of smart devices and peripheral products.

Oppo’s new Chang’an R&D centre, designed by top global architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates in partnership with dozens of professional consultants, will cover an area of 82,000 sq m and consist of 10 all-glass towers, including offices, a talent development centre, an R&D centre, a mobile internet research centre and a testing centre, it said.

Standing at 249.5 m tall, the landmark office tower, once complete, will represent a spectacular fixture of Dongguan’s skyline, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service