Siemens Healthineers is investing an additional 1 billion yuan ($142 million) or more to establish a new R&D and production site in Shenzhen, China, marking the second of its kind in the southern metropolis of Guangdong province.

Siemens Shenzhen Magnetic Resonance Ltd. (SSMR), initially took root in the Shenzhen High-tech Industrial Park in 2002 as a joint venture with Siemens Healthineers, and in 2011 became a wholly owned subsidiary of the medical equipment OEM. The 46,000 square meter SSMR facility employs roughly 1,000 people and is the biggest research and manufacturing center of Siemens Healthineers outside Germany. Its business covers magnetic resonance systems, angiography systems and medical electronic components.

A signing ceremony for strategic collaboration between SSMR and the Nanshan district of Shenzen on Monday was attended by Jan Rudolph, consul general of Germany in Guangzhou, Bernd Montag, CEO of Siemens Healthcare, Wang Hao, president of Siemens Healthcare Greater China, Ma Tianshi, general manager of SSMR, and Siemens Healthcare Global Management Senior management.

"China is of elementary importance for Siemens Healthineers. Through its technology savviness and openness to partnerships and innovation, China is already, and will continue to be, a strategic innovation driver for us locally as well as globally," Montag said, according to China Daily.

The localization rate of product components produced in the SSMR has reached 80%. As of the day of the event, the cumulative shipments of complete equipment from the Shenzhen base reached 8,000 units, covering more than 100 countries and regions, and the shipment of medical electronic components exceeded 1 million pieces.

The city of Shenzhen, which has an advantageous geographic location and has benefited from China's economic reform, has been ranked as mainland China's top city for overall economic competitiveness.

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