Toshiba Corp. will build a new flash memory factory in Japan for 6.58 billion dollars in its bid to unseat South Korea's Samsung as the industry leader, a newspaper said Thursday
The factory would produce NAND flash memory chips, a vital storage device for lucrative consumer gadgets such as Apple's iPod and cell phones, the Asahi Shimbun said.
A Toshiba spokesman denied the report, saying nothing has been decided. The Asahi, citing unnamed sources, said the company would announce the plant project later this month.
The newspaper said the factory would start production by March 2010 in Kitakami, a city in northern Iwate prefecture.
With the new factory, Toshiba will be able to produce more than 600,000 units of 300-mm wafers per month, up from current capacity of 410,000 units, the Asahi said.
Toshiba has reported soaring profits in recent years but its operating profit dipped by almost one quarter in the three months to December as memory chip prices slipped in the face of tough competition.
Toshiba has joined forces with fellow Japanese companies NEC Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. to develop the next generation of chips and secure an advantage in the future.
But last month South Korea also said that top-ranked Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor will join forces in state-backed research on new semiconductors.
