Production at the Shanghai JVC Electronics Co venture will end in January, with operations ceasing in December 2007, Makoto Hikita, a Tokyo-based Victor spokesman, was quoted as saying yesterday by Bloomberg News. Output at the venture is expected to fall to one million units this year, compared with three million in 2003, he said. Manufacturing will relocate to factories in Beijing, Malaysia and Indonesia, he said.

Victor's profitability has declined in recent years amid competition in the consumer electronics industry. The Yokohama-based company on April 27 reported an annual loss of 30.6 billion yen (US$257 million), the biggest since the year ended on March 2002.

The costs for disbanding the venture have been factored in earnings forecasts, Victor said in a statement, without disclosing a number.

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