Japan's Big Five Chipmakers to Cut Investment

Staff -- Semiconductor International, 3/1/1998

Semiconductor manufacturers NEC Corp., Toshiba Corp., Hitachi Ltd., Fujitsu Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. are likely to slash their combined consolidated investment for fiscal 1998 by at least 10% from the 785 billion yen (U.S. $6 billion) projected at the beginning of the current fiscal year, according to The Nihon Keizai Shimbun. The cuts will peg capital spending below 700 billion yen (U.S. $5.3 billion) for the first time in four years. The chip market has been slow because of sluggish personal computer sales and the Asian economic downturn. The five chipmakers all expect lower earnings this fiscal term, for the second straight year.