Panasonic Says Nothing New Decided For Semiconductor Business

(RTTNews) - Responding to media reports, Japanese consumer electronics giant Panasonic Corp. (PCRFY) announced Friday that it hasn't decided anything new regarding the semiconductor business, even though it has been studying various plans for the strategy of the business.

Nikkei reported Friday that Panasonic has decided to sell three semiconductor production facilities in Southeast Asia to Singaporean industry giant United Test and Assembly Center as part of its ongoing restructuring efforts. These facilities assemble microcontrollers, image sensors, power chips and other products, using substrates preprocessed in Japan.

Panasonic responded that the content of the media report was not announced by the firm. According to the company, the only decision regarding the business was the announcement on December 20 about the formation of the joint venture of diffusion plants of the semiconductor business in Hokuriku region, Japan with Israeli chipmaker Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (TSEM), which operates under the brand name TowerJazz.

As per the latest Nikkei report, Panasonic aims to unload the facilities in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia by the end of fiscal 2014. Both companies are discussing terms and are expected to reach an agreement soon. Following the reported sale, Panasonic's only remaining chip production facilities abroad will be two Chinese facilities.

In Japan, Panasonic shares are currently trading at 1,343 yen, down 15 yen or 1.10 percent.