Kodak to Invest in China to Slow Rival Fuji

Eastman Kodak Co. said it will invest more than $1 billion in China in the next three to five years as part of its strategy to slow Fuji Photo Film Co.’s advance in worldwide film sales. Kodak plans to buy majority stakes in two state-owned companies through an agreement with the Chinese government. It will spend $390 million this year to revamp the plants and gear up marketing and distribution in the world’s most populous nation. Kodak and Fuji claim roughly equal shares of China’s photography market, where film sales are increasing as much as 20% a year. Kodak is looking to China and other areas as aggressive price cuts from Tokyo-based Fuji reduce profit and eat into its U.S. business. On the New York Stock Exchange, shares of Rochester, N.Y.-based Kodak rose 50 cents to close at $63.25. Fuji’s American depositary receipts rose $1 to close at $35.75 on Nasdaq. Fuji officials in Japan couldn’t be reached for comment.