<text>  Swatch, the worlds . largest watchmaker unveiled its riposte to Apples smartwatch. It plans to put cheap . programmable chips in watches that will let wearers from China . to Chicago make payments with a swipe of the wrist. Swatch Group will start offering watches with near . field communication NFC chips within two months, said at a news conference on the companys . annual results which were released last month. Scroll down for video . Were coming for you Apple! Swatch chief executive Nick Hayek said Apples launch was a fantastic opportunity for the Swiss watchmaker. The rewards are potentially huge for whoever comes up with a winning formula. Andrew Sheehy, chief analyst at Generator Research, sees the retail value of wearable Internet-connected devices at 93.1 billion by 2018, versus 4.1 billion in 2014, with smartwatches accounting for about two thirds of the markets value in 2018. Apples move into watches would open up a market where . Swatch was already well positioned to compete, he said. The Swiss companys strategy appears to revolve around . including individual tech features in different models rather . than going head to head with Apple, the worlds most valuable . firm, to create all-in-one smartwatches combining many . functions. We are the world champions of integrating smart functions . into a watch, Hayek said. We dont want to produce a mini . mobile phone on your wrist. Others can do that. At 1600 GMT, Swatch shares were up 2.7 percent at 432.1 . Swiss francs. Apples watch will go on sale in nine countries starting in . April, priced from 349 for the smaller model and 549 for the . standard version, although a high-end Edition watch will sell . for at least 10,000. Its a fantastic opportunity for us. It is opening the . market. Especially in the U.S., many people are not wearing . watches any more. Somebody is opening this up. Let Apple do the . work. Its fine. Its good. I congratulate them. The new connected watch Swatch Touch Zero Onewhich will go on sale within months . Both firms strategies could co-exist and succeed, Hayek . said, before adding a dig at the bigger rival: Upgrading . software every year, thats not our business. For its near-field chips, which will cost around 2 francs . 2 per watch, Swatch has teamed up with China UnionPay, the . Chinese credit card association, as well as a Swiss bank and a . major credit card company. The credit card company, described as an Olympics sponsor, . is likely to be Visa, a long-time backer of the event. Visa was not immediately available to comment. Swatch is also launching a range of sports-themed Swatch . Touch smartwatches which will be able to buddy up with a . smartphone via a Bluetooth connection. The first model will retail at 135 francs, about twice the . cost of a regular Swatch watch with an NFC chip. 