TOKYO, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - Sony Corp said Thursday that it had agreed to sell its production facilities for the powerful computer chip at the heart of its struggling PlayStation 3 game console to rival Toshiba Corp.

The deal, reportedly worth over one billion dollars, is part of Sony's efforts to refocus on its core electronics business and staunch losses from the PS3 in the face of fierce competition from Nintendo's Wii.

TOKYO, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - Sony Corp said Thursday that it had agreed to sell its production lines for the powerful computer chip at the heart of its struggling PlayStation 3 game console to rival Toshiba Corp.

The deal, reportedly worth over one billion dollars, is part of Sony's efforts to recoup its huge investment in the PS3 and stem losses at its game unit in the face of fierce competition from rival Nintendo's Wii.

TOKYO, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - Sony Corp said Thursday that it had agreed to sell to rival Toshiba Corp its production lines for high-performance computer chips, including the technology at the heart of the PlayStation 3.

The two companies will set up a joint venture to produce high-performance semiconductors and to operate the production lines in western Japan under the basic deal, which they hope to finalise by March next year.

Sony said it hoped the move would generate further growth in the PlayStation business.

TOKYO, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - Japan's ailing Sanyo Electric said Wednesday that it had abandoned plans to sell its semiconductor business, dismaying investors who had hoped the company would raise almost a billion dollars from the sale.

Sanyo Electric Co. is struggling to return to profit after three straight years of red ink, hit by fierce competition in the consumer electronics sector.

TOKYO, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - Japan's Sanyo Electric Co. said Wednesday that it had decided against a sale of its semiconductor business as part of its efforts to return to the black after three straight years of losses.

The ailing electronics maker decided to retain the semiconductor unit 'as a key operation' in its component and device division, a company statement said.

'Sanyo will continue to take measures to expand and develop this business,' it added.

BRATISLAVA, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - Japanese electronics giant Sony said it launched mass production of large LCD TV sets at its new Slovak factory on Monday.

The plant, at Nitra in western Slovakia, will be Sony's main European LCD TV factory alongside a second in Barcelona, Spain.

'By the end of 2008, the Nitra factory will have a production capacity of three million LCD sets per year and around 3,000 employees,' the company said in a statement.

AMSTERDAM, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Dutch electronics company Philips announced Thursday that it will acquire US firm Lighting Technology International (LTI) which makes high-power lamps for movie theatres, for an undisclosed sum.

Besides xenon lamps for movie projectors, the Californian company also makes lights used to light concerts or to illuminate famous landmarks like the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Egyptian Pyramids of Giza.

TOKYO, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Struggling Japanese electronics maker Sanyo Electric Co. said Thursday that it had signed a tentative deal with Kyocera Corp. on a possible sale of its mobile telephone manufacturing business.

Sanyo has granted Kyocera priority negotiating rights under an agreement approved by the boards of the two companies, a company statement said.

It said the decision to shed the business was prompted by 'a rapid change in the business environment' which overshadowed the group's cost-cutting efforts.

SEOUL, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Dutch electronics giant Philips has sold down its stake in a joint venture in South Korea to below 20 percent as part of its move to adjust business portfolios, company officials said Thursday.

Philips Electronics sold a 13 percent stake in LG Philips LCD, the world's second largest maker of flat panel screens, to raise 2.2 billion dollars, the joint venture said.

'They divested the shares to international and local financial institutions in a block sale deal in the pre-opening session this morning,' an LG Philips LCD spokeswoman said.

SEOUL, Oct 9, 2007 (AFP) - LG Philips LCD, the world's second largest maker of flat panel screens, said Tuesday it had swung into profit in the third quarter of this year thanks to a rebound in prices and reduced costs.

For the three months to September the company posted a net profit of 524 billion won (570.4 million dollars) compared to a loss of 595 billion won a year earlier.

TOKYO, Oct 1, 2007 (AFP) - Sony Corp. said Monday it plans the world's first commercial launch of ultra-thin televisions using organic light emitting diode (OLED) technology in December, aiming to revive its reputation for innovation.

The next generation television has a screen with a thickness of just three millimetres (0.12 inches), which was made possible because the organic display is self-luminescent and does not require a backlight.

TOKYO, Sept 21, 2007 (AFP) - Japan's NEC Corp. said Friday that the New York-based Nasdaq stock exchange may delist its US shares if it fails to meet a deadline to restate its past financial results.

The Nasdaq has asked NEC, which makes semiconductors, high-end computers and other electronics, to complete a restatement of results for the year to March 2006 by September 25.

The restatement is needed for the company to comply with tighter accounting rules on revenues from software and maintenance and support services.

TOKYO, Sept 20, 2007 (AFP) - Japan's Sharp Corp. said Thursday it had agreed to become the top shareholder in its financially troubled rival Pioneer Corp. as part of a broad business tie-up in response to growing competition.

Sharp, which has seen four straight years of record profits thanks to fast-growing sales of flat-screen televisions, said it would take a stake of about 14 percent in Pioneer, which will take a 0.9 percent stake in Sharp.

But the heads of both companies said they were not contemplating a full merger in the future.

TOKYO, Sept 20, 2007 (AFP) - Japan's Sharp Corp. announced Thursday that it had agreed to become the top shareholder in its financially troubled rival Pioneer Corp. as part of a broad business and capital tie-up.

Sharp said it would take a stake of about 14 percent in Pioneer as part of a cross-shareholding deal.

The two companies will collaborate in areas such as next generation DVD, car electronics and display screens.

Pioneer is trying to reverse a profit slump after being saddled with overcapacity in plasma display panel even as prices keep declining.

TOKYO, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - Japanese electronics giant Toshiba Corp. said Wednesday it will voluntarily recall AC adaptors for portable DVD players that may overheat and damage the players themselves.

The company sold roughly 328,000 of the 'SD-P1600' and 'SD-P1610' players around the world, including 73,554 units of 'SD-P1600' in Japan.

The company has received four cases of overheating in Japan, though no one was injured due to the defect, a Toshiba spokesman said.

TOKYO, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) - Sony Corp's financial arm on Tuesday scaled down its giant initial public offering as renewed worries about the fallout from a global credit squeeze sent financial shares tumbling.

The planned flotation, one of the biggest in Japan in recent years, is being closely watched as a test of investor appetite for financial shares following recent turbulence on global markets.

SEOUL, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) - The chief of South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor said Tuesday that the global microchip market may face a consolidation due to oversupply.

Hynix CEO Kim Jong-Kap said that Taiwanese firms should change their market strategy to help the global chip market stop oversupply.

'Business conditions are not good ... Latecomers must change their market strategy,' he told reporters.

'The latest slump in the semiconductor market is attributable to oversupply caused by Taiwanese firms, which have aggressively boosted production,' he added.

AMSTERDAM, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) - Dutch electronics giant Philips on Monday announced a corporate reorganisation plan and said it hoped to see sales grow by 6.0 percent a year between 2008 and 2010.

The group said in a statement it would 'simplify its operational structure' by creating three key units, comprising its medical, lighting and consumer electronics acitivites, that would each be headed by a single person.

TOKYO, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) - For those fed up with the family photos where one person is perpetually frowning, a new Japanese camera is said to automatically weed out pictures when a person isn't smiling.

Electronics giant Sony Corp. said Wednesday it will begin sales this month of the compact 'Cyber-shot T' series that can detect a smile and immediately drop the shutter.

The photographer can program the camera to detect which type of facial expression to look for, be it a faint smile or a tooth-baring grin, a Sony spokeswoman said.

TOKYO, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) - Japanese electronics maker Casio said Wednesday it will launch a series of digital cameras specially designed for YouTube, the blockbuster video-sharing website.

The new Exilim series has four models, all installed with a function to shoot and save videos in the best form to upload on YouTube, the company said.

Casio Computer Co. is one of the six Japanese companies that are forming partnerships with the Internet site, which enjoys a rapidly growing fan base but has repeatedly locked horns with copyright holders.

TOKYO, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - Sony Corp. said Tuesday it would list its financial arm next month in hopes of raising some three billion dollars to reinvest in the recovering group's core electronics business.

The initial public offering will be one of the largest in recent years and the biggest of 2007 at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which is the world's second largest bourse.

TOKYO, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - Sony Corp. said Tuesday it will list its financial arm next month in hopes of raising some three billion dollars which it can reinvest in its core electronics business.

The iconic Japanese company is in the midst of a restructuring drive that has finally begun to bear fruit after years of suffering as rival Apple raced ahead with the iPod.

Sony Financial Holdings -- the holding firm of Sony Life Insurance, Sony Assurance and Sony Bank -- said it will sell 75,000 newly issues shares.

TOKYO, Aug 29, 2007 (AFP) - Recovering Japanese giant Sony Corp. said Wednesday it will introduce a new lineup of flat-screen televisions including the largest on the market in a bid to boost its mainstay electronics sales.

Introducing 15 new models of its Bravia line, Sony said its top-end flagship model with a 70-inch screen will be the largest flat television commercially available.

The new models will also have advanced technology that can eliminate fuzziness, Sony said.

CHESEAUX, Switzerland, Aug 24, 2007 (AFP) - The Swiss electronics group Kudelski, one of the world's largest makers of digital security systems and television decoders, on Friday reported a 68.9-percent drop in first-half net profit.

Net profit in the first six months of the year reached 28.1 millions Swiss francs (17,2 million euros, 23.3 million dollars), the company said in a statement.

BEIJING, Aug 23, 2007 (AFP) - German engineering powerhouse Siemens, faced with allegations that it paid bribes to operate in China, said Thursday it fired 20 employees in China last year for violations of rules.

'In the last year, we actually separated ourselves from 20 employees in Siemens China which have been found to be related to things which we don't want to accept in the company,' said the company in a statement to AFP.

CHICAGO, Aug 13, 2007 (AFP) - US researchers said Monday they have invented a lightweight paper battery that could serve as an enhanced power storage device for the next generation of consumer electronic devices.

The battery produces electricity in the same way as the conventional lithium-ion batteries that power so many of today's gadgets, but all the components have been incorporated into a lightweight, flexible sheet of paper.

FRANKFURT, Aug 8, 2007 (AFP) - German engineering giant Siemens plans to create more than 10,000 new jobs worldwide during the business year ending in September, most of them abroad, a company spokesman said Wednesday.

Between October 1, 2006 and the end of June, Siemens hired 8,200 new people including about 300 in Germany.

'All hell is breaking loose at most of our divisions. The orders continue to be strong and in some areas we have exhausted our capacity,' the spokesman said.

SEOUL, Aug 6, 2007 (AFP) - South Korea's Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chipmaker, on Monday dismissed concerns that last week's power outage at its memory chip plant could cause supply or earnings problems.

The blackout caused by a malfunctioning power switchboard disrupted production at Samsung's key plant in Suwon, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Seoul, for 21 hours.

SEOUL, Aug 4, 2007 (AFP) - South Korea's Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chipmaker, on Saturday resumed production at its key plant after a day's suspension due to a power failure.

'Operations at all six affected production lines returned to normal as of noon Saturday, with power back on overnight,' a Samsung spokeswoman said.

A malfunctioning power switchboard at a plant in Suwon, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Seoul, halted production of memory chips such as those used in digital cameras and MP3 players.

SEOUL, Aug 3, 2007 (AFP) - South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor said Friday its units in China have forged a preliminary deal to sell outdated memory chip production lines.

'Our two units in China have signed a memorandum of understanding with a Chinese foundry (CSMC Technologies) on the sale of eight-inch (200 millimetre) memory chip production facilities,' Hynix spokeswoman Kim Ah-Young told AFP.

Hynix, the world's second largest memory chipmaker by revenue, has two chip plants in China.

TOKYO, Aug 2, 2007 (AFP) - Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp. said Thursday it would recall 350,000 Cyber-Shot digital cameras worldwide because the metal coating could peel off and scratch the user's hand.

The affected model, the Cyber-Shot DSC-T5, was released in September 2005 and is no longer manufactured, the company said.

'The coating did not have enough adhesive strength, so it may peel off and curl up, hurting a user's hand,' said Sony spokeswoman Ryoko Takagi.

LOS ANGELES, Aug 1, 2007 (AFP) - US Customs authorities launched Wednesday a sweeping crackdown on the sale and distribution of modification chips and electronic devices that lets users play pirated video games.

Federal agents executed 32 search warrants in 16 states including California, Florida, Hawaii and New York.

'This investigation represents the largest national enforcement action of its kind targeting this type of illegal activity,' a statement from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) read.

TOKYO, July 31, 2007 (AFP) - Japanese electronics giant NEC Corp. said Tuesday its operating profit rose 42.5 percent in the fiscal first quarter, boosted by improved profitability at its mobile phone handsets business.

NEC, which also makes computers and semiconductors, reported operating profit of 11.33 billion yen (95 million dollars) for the three months to June, up from 7.95 billion yen a year earlier.

Net income rose to 973 million yen from 261 million yen.

TOKYO, July 31, 2007 (AFP) - Japanese electronics maker Pioneer Corp. said Tuesday its operating profit plunged 81 percent in the three months to June, hit by falling sales of plasma display panels.

The group has had a hard time in recent years after being saddled with overcapacity in plasma display panel even as prices keep declining.

Operating profit dropped to 1.32 billion yen (11.13 million dollars) in the first quarter of the fiscal year on revenue which fell 4.7 percent to 182.64 billion yen due to lower sales of home electronics, a company statement said.

TOKYO, July 31, 2007 (AFP) - Strong sales of digital cameras helped to lift Nikon's net profit by 59 percent in the fiscal first quarter, the Japanese photography icon said Tuesday.

Nikon Corp. also hiked its full-year forecasts as it cashes in on the popularity of high-end single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras and the benefit of a weaker yen which boosts exports.

'Sales of all SLR models were excellent,' said chief financial officer Ichiro Terato, who noted there was particularly strong demand in emerging markets such as China and Russia.