Toshiba Corp. said Monday it will invest 5 billion yen over the next two years to take full control of a joint venture in China.
The move will boost Toshiba's semiconductor-manufacturing capacity and help it meet growing demand in the country.
Toshiba said it is taking full ownership of Wuxi Huazhi Semiconductor Co. in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, by purchasing a stake held by its joint venture partner, Huajin Electronics Group Corp.
The joint venture, established in October 1994 for production of integrated circuits for use in television sets and audio products, will change its name to Toshiba Semiconductor (Wuxi) Co. immediately, Toshiba said in a news release.
Toshiba said it will increase the capital of the company to $15 million, transfer its operations to a newly developed industrial park in Wuxi and boost its capacity to 30 million units a month from the current 3 million a month.
Toshiba said China accounted for 7 percent of the world's semiconductor market in fiscal 2001, a share that is projected to grow to 20 percent by 2010.