Konica Minolta Opens a New Representative Office
in Vietnam for Procurement of Office Equipment Components

Tokyo (October 21, 2008) –Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc. (Konica Minolta) has opened a representative office for its Hong Kong based subsidiary, Konica Minolta Business Technologies Manufacturing (HK) Ltd., in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. The office will act as a center for information gathering and business support for procurement from Southeast Asia, noted for remarkable growth in recent years.

Since its management integration, Konica Minolta has been striving to expand and deepen its local procurement of components for manufacturing sites in China.

In addition to further expanding the procurement of high-performance components from China, Konica Minolta is carrying out a policy to increase procurement widely from the Southeast Asian region, in order to create a system capable of responding flexibly to sudden changes in Chinese manufacturing costs.

The new representative office will seek for new suppliers in Vietnam, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian nations, and, using the procurement know-how accumulated through its Chinese operations, will promote “procurement collaboration” to improve the quality, delivery periods, and technological expertise together with its business partners.

In so doing, Konica Minolta will assist its local suppliers' to improve the component processing technologies, while promoting activities to boost its quality and cost competitiveness.