Leading watchmaker Swatch Group is to debut a smartwatch with payment capabilities in two markets this summer, chief executive Nick Hayek told the company’s AGM.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Hayek (pictured) said the smartwatch will be made available in the company’s home market of Switzerland and “one big country”.

The identity of the major market was not revealed but is thought to be either China or US, both of which are important to Swatch in revenue terms. The watchmaker has already signed an agreement with China Unionpay, China’s bank-card association.

The proposed launch is Swatch’s response to Apple’s smartwatch.

This is not the first time that Hayek has made such a pronouncement. Back in February, he told Bloomberg that a smartwatch would be launched within three months. Obviously that timetable has slipped and the watchmaker is now targeting a later launch. Reports around a launch also surfaced in March.

The Swatch smartwatch is thought to be NFC-enabled. Back in February, Hayek said the device would work with Windows and Android software. He offered no update at the AGM.