This, he said, is part of the company's growth plans for India. The Japanese company had recently acquired the stakeholding of RPG Group in the joint venture, RPG Ricoh Limited, to hike its holding to 76 per cent.

Undeterred by the recent financial crisis in Japan and the major recession in India, the Japanese office automation major is bullish on India and is looking at making increased investments in the country. ``We will be expanding our product range over the years to include several new and digital products. Besides, over the next three years, the company is also looking at introducing the ricoh CD-Romsand even cameras in the Indian market."

Meanwhile, talking to newspersons on the occasion of opening ofthe company's corporate office, Ricoh president and CEO Yutaka Miura said Ricoh is working towards making the Indian subsidiary financially healthy and viable for future growth.

"In order to achieve this, we have decided to enhance our production line. Ricoh will be introducing five new products in December and will follow it up with latest digital products in 1999.'' Besides, the company is also looking at increasing its presence in the Indian market and enhancing the dealership network. Ricoh, he said, will employ all resources to achieve leadership in the office automation segment. The company is planning to jack up its market share from 14 per cent at present to over 20 per cent in two years.

After this initial phase of consolidation and streamlining their operations, new technology and products will now be available simultaneously in India with the rest of the world, Miura said.