Japan’s Sony Corp has withdrawn from participating in the Mobile World Congress 2020 (MWC2020), being held in Barcelona, Spain, citing the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus (nCov). The company’s press conference will take place via video at the scheduled time on February 24, 2020.

As many as 6 firms - chipmaker Nvidia Corp, Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson, South Korea's LG Electronics, Amazon and Japanese NTT Docomo - have withdrawn from MWC, citing the nCov outbreak. However, Chinese telecom gear manufacturer ZTE Corp said it is not bowing out of the event.

“As we place the utmost importance on the safety and well-being of our customers, partners, media and employees, we have taken the difficult decision to withdraw from exhibiting and participating at MWC 2020 in Barcelona, Spain,” Sony said in a statement.

“Sony has been closely monitoring the evolving situation following the novel coronavirus outbreak, which was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization on January 30, 2020,” it added.