銆€銆€IBM yesterday launched a new research lab in Shanghai in an effort to boost its R&D strength in one of the world's fastest growing countries.

銆€銆€The IBM Shanghai research lab, located at Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in Pudong New Area, will serve to help IBM attract more talent from southern China.

銆€銆€It will primarily focus on research fields such as cloud computing, information analytics and Web-delivered service computing and will host 100 researchers in the next couple of years.

銆€銆€"The very nature of research is changing. It is more open, more global and more collaborative," said John Kelly, IBM senior vice-president and director of IBM Research. "We are coming to Shanghai because of the exceptional talent and the greatest people here."

銆€銆€IBM spends $6 billion every year on research and development and has about 3,000 researchers in eight research labs around the world.

銆€銆€The company established its China Research Laboratory in Beijing as early as 1995 and now has more than 200 researchers in the country.

銆€銆€IBM's announcement comes as many multinational companies are starting to reduce their overseas investments to cope with the global economic slump.

銆€銆€But Kelly said he is confident about IBM's future in a fierce market environment.