The Sony Precision Engineering Center subsidiary of Sony Corp is to invest a total of $53m over the next five years to set up a components research and development division to develop optical data storage devices specifically aimed at the information technology and multimedia industries. Some design knowledge will be transferred from Japan to jump-start the project in the form of staff, the company said, and 60 research scientists are to be hired and trained over the five-year period. The Singapore-based Sony Precision Engineering Center was established in 1987 to serve as a regional technological support base for its parent back in Japan. It currently manufactures precision components and provides specialized services for factory automation.
