Sony postpones product launches due to Thai floods

Sony said it was delaying the launch of products including its NEX-7 camera and the Reflex Alpha 65 indefinitely.The move comes after the floods forced Sony to shut production at two of its three units in Thailand.Sony's output was also hit earlier this year due to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.The world's two biggest makers of hard drives - Seagate and Western Digital - have also warned of delays due to the floods.Western Digital said it expected to be affected more than its rivals as it makes 60% of its hard drives in Thailand, and it will take several quarters to recover."This is a disaster of an unprecedented scale," said chief executive John Coyne.Toshiba has also suspended its Thailand hard disk manufacturing as all computer makers brace for the aftermath of the floods.Apple's chief executive Tim Cook on Tuesday said he was "virtually certain there will be an overall industry shortage of disk drives".Sony said it was working towards restoring its production facilities."It is difficult for us to say at this time when production will re-start in Thailand," George Boyd, a spokesman for Sony, told the BBC."However, we are taking measures to move production to our third factory in Thailand which is operational and also to other sites," he added.The products were supposed to go on sale in November.However, emerging markets saw double-digit growth, with sales in Asia, Oceania and Africa rising by 11.7%.