GRENCHEN, Switzerland (Reuters) - Swatch Group SA (>> The Swatch Group SA) will launch its "Touch Zero One" smartwatch in August, its chief executive Nick Hayek told the company's annual general meeting on Thursday.

Swatch is also planning to launch watches with an embedded "near field communication" chip this summer, entering a smartwatch market that is expected to be fiercely contested by Apple (>> Apple Inc.) and other watchmakers.

(Reporting by Tom Miles)

Stocks treated in this article : Apple Inc., The Swatch Group SA