Sony consider Chinese extension

Sony is considering building a semiconductor assembly plant in China.

A Sony spokeswoman says nothing concrete has been decided on the timing and location of the plant.

Sony already has a production base for laptop computers in China.

However Sony sources are reported as saying the company will invest as much as 10bn yen (€86.5bn) to build the plant.

It reports that semi-finished chips will be brought to the plant from Sony's plants in Japan and completed for use in digital cameras and the PlayStation 2 game machines of Sony Computer Entertainment, among other products.

The Sony spokeswoman says: "The global market is changing so fast and cost reduction is very important.

"Considering the growth potential of the Chinese market, China is a very attractive location to shift our production facilities."