Hitachi raises 2000 capex to $1.4B

Hitachi's forecasted investment for fiscal 2000 marks a 15% rise in spending over the 130 billion yen in spending planned for fiscal 1999.

The hike follows an earlier boost to fiscal 1999 outlays; several months ago, Hitachi raised its fiscal 1999 spending plans by 60 billion yen.

Last year, numerous Japanese chipmakers increased capital spending expectations for fiscal year 1999, and many industry observers expect to see fiscal 2000 spending plans from Japan firms come in even higher than the revised 1999 levels. Current market forecasts show worldwide capital spending up roughly 25%-35% this year. Total capital spending by Japanese firms will total $7.2 billion, a 26% increase over 1999 spending of $5.8 billion, according to market researcher Dataquest, San Jose, CA.

By Christine Lunday, Online Editor

In an effort to enhance its lithography module control offerings, KLA-Tencor plans to acquire FINLE Technologies, a 10-year old developer of lithography simulation and data analysis software.

POST A COMMENT

Easily post a comment below using your Linkedin, Twitter, Google or Facebook account. Comments won't automatically be posted to your social media accounts unless you select to share.