Fujitsu has decided to withdraw from semiconductor manufacturing and will sell two facilities over the next several years, according to the Nikkei Asian Review. The company plans to sell its Mie plant that handles operations such as system chips for image processing to United Microelectronics (UMC) and Fujitsu has entered the final stages of talks to sell its facility that makes microcomputers for automobiles and other devices to ON Semiconductor.

Fujitsu Ltd plans to transfer its main Mie semiconductor plant in central Japan to a joint venture it will set up with Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corp, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. Fujitsu has sought to cut its exposure to semiconductors.

Several Japanese companies have sold off or reduced their exposure to semiconductor operations in recent years.

Panasonic Corp transferred three domestic chip plants to a joint venture majority owned by Israeli foundry TowerJazz Semiconductor Ltd, while the Renesas deal with Sony was part of a restructuring drive to focus on the auto sector.

Elpida Memory, which had consolidated the PC memory chip operations of Japan's big electronics companies, was bought by Micron Technology Inc after it filed for bankruptcy.