Panasonic to build Malaysian solar cell plant

TOKYO, Nov 25 (AFP): Japanese electronics giant Panasonic said Friday it would build a new solar cell factory in Malaysia, as it looks abroad to cut production costs caused by the surging yen. The company said it would spend 45 billion yen ($582 million) on the new factory make cells -- a key component of solar panels -- capable of generating 300 megawatts of power. The factory, in addition to those owned in Japan, will help Panasonic increase by 50 per cent its annual production to 900 megawatts by 2013. Panasonic has cancelled a plan to convert a plasma-television panel plant in western Japan into one that makes solar panels, Dow Jones Newswires reported, citing an unnamed source. The change in plan was the latest indication of how Japan's solar-panel makers are struggling, as fast-growing Chinese makers create a global inventory glut, while the strong yen makes Japanese exports more expensive. Panasonic's plant in the northwestern Malaysian state of Kedah, which would employ 1,500 people and start production in December 2012, will strengthen the firm's cost competitiveness, it said.