Matsushita Expands IC Plant In China
written by Mark LaPedus, courtesy of EE Times SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Continuing to boost its capacity, Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (Osaka) plans to expand its discrete semiconductor operations in China. The investment for the expansion is 10 billion yen ($93.6 million). The company will build a second plant at Panasonic Semiconductor (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. (PSCSZ). Established in 2001 at Suzhou, PSCSZ started operation as a production site for discrete semiconductor devices in response to the rapid increase in demand in China for digital consumer electronics. This new factory will utilize more advanced production methods. It will produce discrete semiconductor devices, LEDs and camera modules. Construction will start in January. Production is projected to start in October 2008. While the company is expanding in ICs, rival Sony Corp. is contracting in the arena. In fact, Sony sold its advanced fabs to Toshiba Corp. Other Japanese chip makers, namely Sanyo, have attempted to exit the semiconductor market. But Sanyo's bid to find a private-equity partner for the unit failed. This week, Fujitsu Ltd. moved to spin-out its chip unit. |
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