Hanoi - Sony plans to close its television picture tube factory in Vietnam after 14 years of operations, a company official said Friday.

Sony Vietnam, a joint venture between Japan's Sony Group and Vietnam's Viettronics Tan Binh Co, is to close its factory in Ho Chi Minh City at the end of September, company spokeswoman Pham Xuan Anh Thy said.

She said the 16.6-million-dollar factory produces picture tube televisions as consumers were switching to flat-screen liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs. Sony has closed most of its picture tube TV factories in other countries.

"Closing the factory doesn't mean that Sony will pull out of Vietnam," Thy said. "Sony Vietnam will focus on importing Sony products, including LCD TVs, into Vietnam."

Set up in 1994, Sony Vietnam had initial registered capital of 6.6 million dollars, which was raised to 16.6 million dollars two years later. The firm also produces other products, such as CD players, stereos, digital cameras and storage devices. (dpa)