PULLING out of China will bring opportunities as well as challenges to overcome as tech giant focuses on setting up in Austin, Texas and San Jose, California, said IBM chief executive Arvind Krishna, reported Caixin.

Mr Krishna explained the company's rationale in closing its research and development units in China, citing the need to focus on several strategic sites, which now include Bangalore and Kochi.

Mr Krishna said that IBM can only invest in a limited number of locations at scale. These strategic sites, he said, must be capable of accommodating thousands of staff while supporting a wide range of products, including software development, hardware design and consulting services.

Other strategic sites Krishna cited include Toronto in Canada, Krakow in Poland, Dublin in Ireland, the CEO said.