Sony Eyed $6B Investment In Japan's Smartphone Sensor Factory

Author: Anusuya Lahiri | December 16, 2022 08:48am

Sony Group Corp (NYSE:SONY) weighed an investment of 800 billion yen ($5.83 billion) to build a factory to produce smartphone image sensors in western Japan.
The plant would be located in Kumamoto prefecture. Sony plans to bring it online by 2025, Reuters reports.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd (NYSE:TSM) is also building a significant chip plant in Kumamoto.
Also Read: Rapidus Eyes Big Investment To Boost Japan's Chip Trajectory, Collaborates With IBM To Commercialize 2-Nm Tech
Sony and auto parts maker Denso Corp (OTC: DNZOF) (OTC: DNZOY) took a minority stake in the $8.6 billion project.
Sony plans to source logic chips for image sensors from the TSMC plant, Nikkei Asia reports.
Sony carefully weighed the timing and scale of the investment in light of concerns about the outlook for the global economy.
Sony's existing Kumamoto facility produces sensors for various applications, including smartphones, vehicles, and industrial equipment. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook visited the facility this week.
Sony is the largest supplier of CMOS image sensors for smartphone cameras and autos. Sony held a 44% share of the global market by value in 2021, versus Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd (OTC:SSNLF) at 18%.
As per IC Insights, the global market for CMOS image sensors will likely grow to $26.9 billion in 2026, up 30% year-on-year.
Price Action: SONY shares closed lower by 3.1% at $78.72 on Thursday.