Canon eyes $10b sales in China

People experience the Canon photographic equipment at the 22nd Shanghai International Wedding Photography Equipment Exhibition in the Shanghai Expo Exhibition And Convention Center on July 5, 2012. [Photo/China Daily]

CHENGDU -- Japan's Canon Inc, the world's top maker of digital cameras, is expecting to reap $10 billion in sales revenues in the booming Chinese market in 2017, a Canon executive said on Friday.

Canon has seen 25- to 30-percent yearly growth in China since 2005, but it has been hard to maintain such a growth rate this year as the world's economy slowed down, said Howard Ozawa, president and CEO of Canon (China) Co Ltd.

China's personal consumption is on the rise in the long term, said Ozawa at the ongoing Canon Grand Fair in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan province.

He is optimistic about reaching the company's mid-term target of $10 billion sales in China in 2017, Ozawa said.

Canon established its fourth Chinese regional headquarters in Chengdu in April 2012 following Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.