- Title: CHINA: MOTOROLA CLOSE OFFICE IN BEIJING AFTER WORKER CONTRACTS SARS VIRUS.
- Date: 6th May 2003
- Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (MAY 6, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS: EXTERIOR OF MOTOROLA BUILDING IN BEIJING WHICH HAS BEEN CLOSED UNTIL MAY 12 AFTER STAFF MEMBER CONTRACTED SARS (5 SHOTS) 0.30 HONG KONG CHINA (MAY 6, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 2. GV: INTERVIEW WITH MARY LAMB, DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATION ASIA PACIFIC 0.36 3. MCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAMB SAYING: "In China, we have 12,000 employees. Motorola invests over 3.4 billion U.S. dollars so we have quite a large presence there. On the 24th of April, we were contacted by one of our employees who felt ill. As we monitored him over the course of the next couple of days, it became a suspected SARS case. On the 27th around the 28th, we alerted the other employees in the office and elected to close the office down on the 29th and 30th, just before the May 1st holidays. On May 1st, it was confirmed that the employee had SARS. He has been put into a local hospital in Beijing. And I will say that I am pleased to report that he's responding well to medical treatment. And we hope he'll make a full recovery. As a precautionary measure, we have closed the office in Beijing for the week between May 5th to May 12th and we'll be reopened on May 12th." 1.36 4. GV: LAMB WITH JOURNALIST 1.41 5. MCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAMB SAYING: "As I mentioned before, Motorola is the largest foreign investor in China. We remain committed to China for the long term and I see no impact on our investment in China as a result of the SARS situation." 1.53 BEIJING, CHINA (FILE) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 6. GV/MV/CU: SHOP SELLING MOBILE PHONES; WOMAN LOOKING AT PHONE; DISPLAY OF MOTOROLA PHONES; CUSTOMER LOOKING AT PHONE; CUSTOMER USING PHONE (4 SHOTS) 2.14 BEIJING, CHINA (RECENT - APRIL 30, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 7. MV/CU: CHRISTIAN MURCK, CHAIRMAN OF AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN BEIJING AND OF APCO CONSULTANCY FIRM, SITTING FOR INTERVIEW, CU BOOK (2 SHOTS) 2.26 9. MCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) MURCK SAYING: "I think it's very important that this thing be eliminated in Hong Kong and Singapore and in the other parts of the region. China is an increasingly important platform for manufacturing and the imports components for many Asian countries, so it would be very serious for the rest of the region if production is disrupted in China." 2.55 BEIJING, CHINA (FILE) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 9. GV: STREET SCENE, PEOPLE RIDING BICYCLES 3.03 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 21st May 2003 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: HONG KONG AND BEIJING, CHINA
- Country: China
- Reuters ID: LVABAWQG4V15XLMG130KZA14DYKT
- Story Text: Motorola Inc, the world's second-largest mobile phone
maker, has announced the closure of its main office in Beijing
after a staff member contracted SARS.
Motorola officials in Hong Kong said on Tuesday (May
6) about 1,000 employees would work from home until May 12
after one staff member contracted SARS.
The office in Beijing, where SARS has struck harder than
anywhere else in the world, was closed on April 29 for
cleaning and disinfection work.
Some 27 employees who had close contact with the affected
employee have been advised to stay at home for
self-quarantine.
"In China, we have 12,000 employees. Motorola invests
over 3.4 billion U.S. dollars so we have quite a large
presence there. On the 24th of April, we were contacted by one
of our employees who felt ill. As we monitored him over the
course of the next couple of days, it became a suspected SARS
case. On the 27th around the 28th, we alerted the other
employees in the office and elected to close the office down
on the 29th and 30th, just before the May 1st holidays. On May
1st, it was confirmed that the employee had SARS. He has been
put into a local hospital in Beijing. And I will say that I am
pleased to report that he's responding well to medical
treatment. And we hope he'll make a full recovery. As a
precautionary measure, we have closed the office in Beijing
for the week between May 5th to May 12th and we'll be reopened
on May 12th," said Mary Lamb, Motorola's director for
corporate communication in Asia and the Pacific.
The spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in
China - with 4,280 cases and 206 deaths by the latest count -
has raised alarm bells among battered foreign technology firms
about the risk of doing business in a country many cannot
afford to ignore.
Motorola factories in the northern city of Tianjin have
continued to operate normally.
"Motorola is the largest foreign investor in China. We
remain committed to China for the long term and I see no
impact on our investment in China as a result of the SARS
situation," said Lamb.
Motorola made about 37.5 million phones in its Chinese
factories last year.
The firm, China's leading handset brand last year with 27
percent of the market, is fighting both foreign and local
upstarts to keep its number-one position in the world's
largest mobile market by users.
The firm's investment in China, which began in 1992, will
reach about $10 billion by 2006, executives have said. It is
one of the country's top three foreign investors.
While economists have played down the long-term impact of
the SARS virus, there are concerns about its short-term
effects on Asia's fragile economies - especially if China's
manufacturing base begins to suffer.
"I think it is very important that this thing be
eliminated in Hong Kong and Singapore, and the other parts of
the region. China is an increasingly important platform for
manufacturing and the imports components for many Asian
countries, so it would be very serious for the rest of the region if
production is disrupted in China," said Chris Murck of the APCO
consultancy firm and Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in
a recent interview.
Singapore ordered more than 300 workers at a Motorola
plant to be quarantined at home in late March after one
employee came down with the virus, which has no standard cure.
Analysts said the temporary closure would probably not
have a dire effect on Motorola's China business, which
contributed $5.7 billion to its global sales of 27.3 billion
U.S. dollars last year.
Shares in Chicago area-based Motorola closed up seven
cents at 8.12 U.S. dollars on Monday in New York.
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