German engineering and technology giant Siemens announced Tuesday in Munich that BenQ, an electronics company in China's Taiwan province, will take over its division of mobile phones.

The company said that the deal, expected to save 350 million euros (420 million US dollars) for Siemens, is to be wrapped up in September.

The link-up, to allow BenQ to use the Siemens name for five years, is pending for approval by authorities of both Siemens and BenQ at their annual general meetings.

Under the deal, BenQ would continue to employ all the 6,000 or so employees that Siemens has employed in its mobile phone producing area, Siemens said.

Analysts say that the takeover would provide a springboard for BenQ, a leading cellphone maker in Taiwan split off from electronics company Acer Inc. in 2001, to enter the European market.

BenQ, which also manufactures phones for Motorola and NEC Corp.,is a good player in catching new trends and market knowledge.

Siemens has been searching since January for a buyer or joint venture partner for its troubled mobile phone division, which has seen persistent loss in both income and market share.

In fiscal 2004, the division lost 280 million euros (336 million dollars), with its global share dropping to a six-year worst of 5.5 percent. The trend was not checked in this fiscal year as it recorded a deficit of 138 million euros in the January-March period.

Source: Xinhua