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Tuesday, 23rd March 2010
In Business In Japan,

Toshiba announces semiconductor plan

Japanese firm Toshiba has announced it is to begin making semiconductors at a new plant in Japan.

A new wing will be built on the existing Yokkaichi plant, which is in central Japan, as part of a bid to keep up with increasing global demand for chips.

Toshiba will create flash memory chips at the plant, with building scheduled to begin in July this year. The new factory is set to be completed by spring 2011 and will cost some 350 billion yen.

The plant was originally scheduled for last year but following the global economic downturn and related impact on the sector, the plans were pushed to one side.

However, a recent rise in demand on the back of some recovery has seen the firm restart its plans. Japan suffered badly in the downturn as its economy relies heavily on high-value electrical items such as computers, DVD players and digital cameras.

Luxury items are often the first things to be taken off people's shopping lists when financial times are hard.

Written by Mark Smith.