OPPO announced at a ground-breaking ceremony that it will establish a new research and development center in China's Chang'an Town, Dongguan, Guangdong Province, as it accelerates its push to boost R&D capabilities. The company also announced that plans to spend RMB 10 billion (approx. $1.46 billion) on R&D this year. The new facilities, along with the company's existing R&D centers, will form a robust research engine that powers OPPO's continued innovation for the emerging era of intelligent connectivity. OPPO's new Chang'an R&D center, as 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. As a global R&D engine for the company, OPPO's new Chang'an R&D center 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 MEA, said "we are very pleased to officially break ground on OPPO's new Chang'an R&D center. It will play a strategic role in OPPO's R&D endeavors, further enhancing the core technological capabilities of the company and accelerating the implementation of our R&D strategy and objectives." "The project will be built to the highest industrial standards and we will spare no effort in making the new R&D center 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 center, designed by top global architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates in partnership with dozens of professional consultants, will cover an area of approximately 123.5 mu (roughly 82,000 square meters) and consist of 10 all-glass towers, including offices, a talent development center, an R&D center, a mobile Internet research center and a testing center. Standing At 249.5 meters tall, the landmark office tower, once complete, will represent a spectacular fixture of Dongguan's skyline. — SG
