Business reshuffle for chip group

Renesas has introduced a three-pronged business strategy including (1) formulation of growth strategies by optimising business portfolios, (2) realisation of merger synergies, such as the integration of development environments, technology platforms and various infrastructures and (3) implementation of structural reforms to create a business structure with stable profitability and resistance to changing market conditions.

Renesas Electronics began business on 1 April 2010, through the integration of NEC Electronics Corporation and Renesas Technology. Targeted to achieve sustainable and robust growth, the new business has been formed by reviewing all the former companies’ management resources, including technologies, products, design and development environments, manufacturing, sales, material purchasing and business processes, to maximise the merger synergies and by evaluating measures to achieve the company’s business goals.

Among moves to widen its market, the company will launch products that meet the demand of the Chinese. On 1 October, the company will appoint a local representative as the top executive of its sales company in China, Renesas Electronics China. This company plans to expand its product line-ups to 1000 products for the Chinese market, particularly with microcontrollers for smart meters, which have an 80% share in the Chinese market.

As a result, the company expects to expand its sales ratio in the Chinese market from approximately 10% in the current fiscal year to about 20% by March 2013.

Outside foundries will be used on all its 28 nm and smaller geometry semiconductor products. In line with this change, the company has positioned the 300 mm wafer lines at Naka plant and Renesas Electronics Yamagata Semiconductor’s Tsuruoka plant as manufacturing facilities for the company’s basic products, especially for systems-on-chips (SoCs) up to 40 nm, and MCus that are expected to further miniaturise from their current geometries.

To strengthen its business structure to become resistant to changing markets, it will construct a strategic 'fab network' including outside foundries.

Through this network, the company aims to improve manufacturing efficiency by restraining large-scale investments to increase in-house manufacturing capacity, and by promoting large wafers, miniaturisation and production concentration.