Japan's SUMCO to issue 60 bln yen new shares-paper

TOKYO, Nov 29 (Reuters) Japanese silicon wafer maker SUMCO Corp. has decided to issue 60 billion yen (7 million) worth of new shares in a public offering, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The business daily said SUMCO, the world's second-largest silicon wafer maker behind Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd., will use the funds to boost output for advanced 300-mm wafers.

Wafer makers are benefiting as the chip industry shifts to 300-mm wafers, which yield twice as many chips as 200-mm wafers, to cut per-chip production costs.

Of the 60 billion yen, SUMCO will raise more than 40 billion yen in Japan and almost 20 billion yen overseas, the newspaper said.

The issue would be equivalent to about 6 per cent of SUMCO's shares outstanding, the paper said.

REUTERS SBA BST0443