Mitsubishi Elec unit comes under U.S. SRAM probe

NEW YORK/TOKYO, Oct 16 (Reuters) Mitsubishi Electric Corp. said on Monday a subsidiary had received a subpoena from the U.S.

Department of Justice Antitrust Division seeking information on sales of static random-access memory (SRAM) chips.

The subpoena relates to sales of SRAM chips in the United States by the subsidiary, Mitsubishi Electric&Electronics U.S.A. Inc.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., the world's largest memory chip maker, has already received a similar notification from the Justice Department.

An SRAM is a type of memory chip that provides fast access to data and is used in an array of electronics including networking, telecoms and computer gear.

Mitsubishi transferred its SRAM operations to Renesas Technology Corp, its joint venture with Hitachi Ltd., in 2003 but the Tokyo-based company will cooperate fully with the probe, Mitsubishi spokesman Harumasa Hirano said.

Prior to the announcement, shares in Mitsubishi closed up 1.5 percent at 1,034 yen, slightly outperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index IELEC, which gained 1.21 percent.

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