Toshiba to raise chip investment in light of digital camera boom

TOKYO (AFP) Nov 25, 2003
Major Japanese electronics maker Toshiba said Tuesday it will raise its investment in semiconductor output by 10 percent to meet growing demand for digital cameras and camera-equipped cellular phones.

Toshiba Corp. said its planned capital expenditure for its semiconductor operations in the year to March 2004 would rise to 130 billion yenbillion dollars) from its earlier estimate of 118 billion yen.

The investment "will allow Toshiba to meet increased demand for memory chips, particularly flash memory for personal digital products, including digital still cameras and cellular phones with cameras," Toshiba said in a statement.

The additional investment will be made at the company's Oita plant, southwestern Japan, to build clean rooms for production of large-scale integrations (LSIs).

"The decision to expand the memory production line in Oita, which is Toshiba's main production site for Systems LSIs, reflects greater-than-expected demand for memories," Shigeo Koguchi, chief of the company's semiconductor businesses, said in the statement.

"The Oita investment will assure Toshiba maintains leadership in key segments of the memory market," he said.

Toshiba said it planned to raise its memory production capabilities further without elaborating.

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