(Yicai) April 3 -- Switzerland's Amcor, one of the world's biggest consumer goods packaging firms, plans to increase its investment in China, mainly in research and development incorporating artificial intelligence technologies, according to the president of its Chinese arm.

Amcor has invested around USD2 billion in China since entering the market in 2015, Xin She said yesterday. The Zurich-based packaging giant is developing budgets and application plans for AI implementation, he added.

Amcor exports packaging tech developed by its Chinese team at its Asia-Pacific R&D Center in Jiangyin, which had an initial investment of nearly CNY70 million (USD9.6 million), to overseas markets. The firm aims to boost local R&D investment to facilitate more global exports.

"We're testing AI monitoring for factory safety management," Xin noted. "By feeding big data into AI training systems, we can achieve precise and effective safety supervision in our manufacturing facilities. We plan to increase our AI investments further.

"Our data shows particularly strong prospects in the snacks and pet products sectors," Xin said. "The packaging demand for ready-to-cook meals and pet products has grown significantly in recent years. This requires increased R&D investment in both capital and talent.

"For instance, prepared meal packaging needs special features for freshness preservation and heating, while pet food packaging must consider animals' sense of smell and taste, requiring suitable materials," Xin pointed out.

The packaging industry's performance correlates closely with consumption patterns, with strong-selling sectors driving higher packaging demand.

Editor: Martin Kadiev