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Technology Stocks : Amkor Technology Inc (AMKR) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tech101 who wrote (700)	6/1/2000 7:43:00 PM
From: tech101	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1056

Sony 2 boost PlayStation chip productin by: amkr_investor 6/1/00 4:57 pm Msg: 13718 of 13718 AND SONY IS USING AMKR FOR PACKAGING!* *Per JBORU comments in the Q1 CC. Sony to boost PlayStation chip production By Reuters Special to CNET News.com June 1, 2000, 10:40 a.m. PT URL: news.cnet.com TOKYO--Japanese electronics giant Sony said today it would spend 125 billion yen ($1.16 billion) to boost output of chips used in its cutting-edge PlayStation2 console to smooth its overseas debut in October. Sony's wholly owned game-making Sony Computer Entertainment unit will make the additional investment to its initial 130 billion yen outlay in two semiconductor plants in southern Japan, one for graphic chips and the other for advanced central processing units (CPUs). The fresh spending is aimed at boosting output of its popular 128-bit PlayStation2 game player, which SCE launched on March 4 in Japan, shipping more than 1 million in the first week and 2 million machines in the first 82 days. SCE's decision would mean accelerating its plan to sell those chips to other manufacturers of consumer electronics. "This is a strategic decision involving our business future," SCE president Ken Kutaragi told a news conference, adding that the investment would enable Sony chips to be used in digital televisions and other electronics products. The CPU, called "emotion engine," was jointly developed by SCE and Toshiba, and is currently produced by Toshiba. Toshiba sells 10,000 silicon wafers a month to SCE for use in PlayStation2. Under the new capex plan, SCE will spend 23 billion yen to add production lines at its graphic chip plant, 67.5 billion yen on building a graphic chip plant and 34.5 billion yen to reinforce output capacity at its LSI plant. Kutaragi said SCE plans to increase PlayStation2 output to 1.4 million per month by autumn from 500,000 now and to 2.2 million once the new plant comes on line next April. Sony last month said it would release 1 million PlayStation2 machines in North America and Europe on October 26 that it expects to be snapped up in Pre-orders or on launch day. Two million more will follow for the first quarter of 2001. The funds will be raised through a loan from SCE's parent, which plans to raise money through debt financing. "PlayStation is expected to become something more significant than just game consoles or computers," Sony president Nobuyuki Idei told a news conference. "The Sony group as a whole will back up PlayStation as a future network information device." Its built-in DVD-ROM player allows users to watch movies and listen to music and will eventually let them access other entertainment services through a broadband network. Analysts see the move as an aggressive step for Sony, whose profits sagged 32 percent in the last business year, sapped by a strong yen and the cost of launching PlayStation2. "The new investment is quite large," said Takatoshi Yamamoto, managing director at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. "It illustrates either Sony's extremely bullish outlook for PlayStation2 demand for next year or a strong commitment to its chip business."