IPC Corp Ltd of Singapore and Compagnie des Machines Bull SA have put together a string of agreements that will justify IPC taking a small stake in the French flagship computer company later this year. The two will form a joint venture to manufacture printed circuit boards in the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone in Guangdong province, China, with Bull providing equipment and expertise from its Brighton, Massachusetts plant and IPC the land, other equipment and operational funding. Both will be major customers of the planned plant. On Smart Card technology, the Bull CP8-Transac Smart Card subsidiary and IPC will form a CP8 Technology Pte Ltd joint venture in Singapore to develop Smart Card business terminals for the Asian market, excluding Japan, and develop applications in banking, identity cards, health and the electronic purse, and IPC will hold the majority stake. A second Smart Card venture, with Bull having a majority stake, will promote, market and distribute electronic payment and collection systems in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Products will include Bull automatic teller machines, and point-of-sale terminals from both companies. And IPC and the Zenith Data Systems personal computer division of Bull will establish a joint venture to manufacture and distribute Zenith products throughout Asia. The new Zenith Data Systems Asia will also develop its own products for the local market. No financial details of the alliances were offered.
