Swatch Group Ltd, the world's largest watchmaker, said it will provide sports timing systems and services worth 50 million Swiss Francs (US$38.9 million) for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"We will ship 500 tons of equipment and 300 professional engineers from Switzerland to different competition venues in Beijing to measure and transmit results and scores," said Georges Nicolas Hayek Jr, Chief Executive Officer of the Swatch

Group Limited yesterday.

"Although only a small portion of the total costs will be covered by the Olympics Committee for our data handling services, we believe the mega-sports event will help us to reach more people in China, the fastest growing market in the group." he said. Swatch will have the only name and logo on thousands of time displays in

the field of Beijing Olympics.

It expects to double its sales to five to six million watches in China in next five years. It will open around 500 to 1,000 stores and counters in China -20 percent in Shanghai.

Hayek said the company expects to double overall sales during the same period. "The sales turnover will grow exceptionally here." said Hayek. He is the son of Nicolas Hayek, creator of Swatch and savior of the Swiss watch industry in 1970s.

"The foreign watchmakers' expansion in China has hugely impacted China's

watch making industry," said Vice Secretary General Wang Mengjin with China's

Horology Association.

Source: Shanghai Daily