Toshiba Corp. plans to invest up to ¥400 billion to expand memory production at its plant in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, a company source said Thursday.
The electronics maker is likely to split the investment with California-based partner SanDisk Corp. by carrying out the expansion in stages while watching the demand situation, according to the source.
"Demand is hard to predict, and it would not be realistic to make the investment at one time," the source said, adding a formal decision on the matter is expected soon.
Yearlong construction work to expand the Yokkaichi plant will be completed this summer, allowing Toshiba to set up additional production lines there.
The company plans to produce next-generation products of NAND flash memories for smartphones and tablet devices, over which Toshiba is in intense competition with South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. in the global market.