Hitachi, Fuji Electric Form Joint Venture

Hitachi Ltd. (Japan) and Fuji Electric Co. Ltd. (Japan) have entered an agreement to launch a joint-venture company to engage primarily in the development and design of power semiconductors. Tentatively named Fuji-Hitachi Power Semiconductor Technologies Co. Ltd., the new company is planned to begin operations in November 1999. The two firms also announced they are looking for other opportunities to expand collaboration in power semiconductors, including sharing of production facilities.The companies believe that the joint-venture will provide a number of benefits, allowing the firms to exploit the synergy between their world-class technologies to strengthen market position. The joint venture is also expected to make it easier to boost cost effectiveness and accelerate the pace of R&D, permitting them to offer products with enhanced cost-performance. Another expected advantage is an improvement in the profitability of the power semiconductor businesses of both companies due to the sharing of R&D costs. Hitachi believes that its tie-up with Fuji Electric will strengthen Hitachi's ability to respond rapidly to market priorities and to upgrade the performance of its product systems. Fuji Electric expects to fill out its product lineup, speed up product development and expand the scale of its business.