NEC curbs spending on research, chip factories

NEC Electronics Corp. reportedly plans to cut by half its budget for mobile phone research and to freeze investments on new chip factories next year, according to a ShanghaiDaily.com report citing an announcement by NEC Electronics CEO Toshio Nakajima on Bloomberg Television.

Japan's third-largest chipmaker is said to be under pressure from U.S. investor Perry Capital LLC to revive profits, the report said. The company plans to announce a business plan in February that will detail further cost reduction measures.