Roche Holding AG, a Swiss-based pharmaceuticals and diagnostic company, is scheduled to increase the headcount by 25% in China in 2010 due to strong market demands, whereas it plans to reduce costs in Europe and the U.S, said CEO Severin Schwan on Wednesday.

The company currently has more than 80,000 employees worldwide, including 3,000 workers in China.

Schwan added that the firm plans to expand jobs, diagnostic operations and pharmaceutical research and development in the country in the near future.

In 2009, Roche's global sales totaled US$48.51 billion, US$810 million of which was derived from business in China. In the country, the health-care company has invested more than US$1.5 billion so far.

The company also expects the pharmaceutical market in China will exceed US$100 billion by the end of 2015.