The strong technology ramp-up continues in the Czech Republic with news that Hitachi, Panasonic, Toshiba and Hewlett-Packard are investing millions of euros in new production facilities in the central European nation.

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IPS Alpha, a strategic alliance between Hitachi, Panasonic and Toshiba, announced it will invest over 90 million euros and employ up to 2,000 people in a new Czech liquid crystal display (LCD) production facility. IPS Alpha plans to begin production in its new facility in Bohemia summer 2007 and will supply Matsushita and Hitachi plants in Europe.

In total, 166 Japanese companies have operations in the Czech Republic. According to the Japan External Trade Organization, Japanese manufacturers operated 65 production bases in the Czech Republic as of year-end 2005 -- the fourth-highest number for a European country.

Meanwhile, Hewlett-Packard also announced the opening of its Czech-based computer technology supply chain headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The new facility near Prague supports HP's European headquarters in Grenoble, France. Some 100 new jobs will be created by the expansion.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Czech Republic doubled between 2004 to 2005, from $4.9 billion to $11 billion. CzechInvest, the Czech Republic's business and development agency, mediated a record of 154 new foreign and domestic investment projects in 2005. CzechInvest projects contributed $3.2 billion to the Czech economy.