Korean major Samsung Electronics plans to invest $5 million in its research and development facility in India and more than double manpower to 300 next year.

Set up in 2000, the Samsung R&D Centre in India has already developed the sound oriented Q series of colour televisions and expects to be able to design CTVs meant for the Indian market by 2004, a senior company official said.

"We are working towards strengthening the Samsung Electronics India Ltd research and development function for home appliances this year, specially for the refrigerator product category. In 2004, we will go in for designing of CTVs for the Indian market in India," C K Cho, general manager, R&D, Samsung India, told PTI in New Delhi on Wednesday.

He said the company has "earmarked an R&D investment of $5 million in 2004. The manpower too will be increased to close to 300 numbers next year."

Taking its research efforts forward, Samsung has set up a Software Technology Park earlier this year in Noida to develop application software for the parent company's visual display division, which is part of the Digital Media Network Business of Samsung Electronics.

This unit, set up with $2 million investment, will develop software applications for the company's global needs for conventional televisions, projection, plasma and LCD TVs.