| Toshiba and Dai Nippon Printing Partner In Development and Production of PCBs 31 July, 2000 Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. Tokyo--Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (DNP) and Toshiba Corporation today agreed to establish a joint venture company that will develop, produce and market printed circuit boards (PCB). The agreement will see Toshiba transfer part of the assets and human resources of its present PCB operation to Toshiba Circuit Technology Corporation (TCT), a Toshiba Group company engaged in the design, development, manufacture and sales and marketing of PCBs, that will become the core of the joint venture. The new company is scheduled to start operation on October, 2000, under a name that is yet to be decided. In preparation for the start of business, DNP and Toshiba will boost its capitalization to 1 billion yen, against TCT's current 100 million yen, with DNP taking a 51% stake. PCB makers are working to develop a new generation of products that support growing demand for high-density packaging of high-performance electronic components. In this market, the build-up PCB is seen as the most promising solution, as its substrate supports multi-level packaging, thinner board profiles and smaller pitches. The build-up PCB offers high densities at a competitive cost, and also supports the market shift to chip-scale packages (CSP) and ball-grid arrays (BGA), leading-edge mounting technologies for semiconductor devices. The collaboration will allow the two partners to combine their respective strengths and expertise in PCBs and accelerate the introduction of competitive lines of build-up products that meet market needs. Toshiba's B2itTM technology supports high density, multi-layer printed circuits required for constructing build-up boards, while DNP's advanced laser technology provides an edge in fine pitch wiring technology and opening smaller via holes, the openings that allowed packages on different PCB levels to be linked together. Transferring its PCB business to the joint venture company supports Toshiba's Semiconductor Company's strategy of concentrating resources on its device business while working with capable allies to support other semiconductor-related operations. In this same spirit, Toshiba and DNP established a joint venture to manufacture semiconductor photomasks in March this year. The new joint venture, which has yet to be named, will be established in October 2000 and will initially have approximately 350 employees. It will be capitalized at 1 billion yen. DNP will have a 51% stake in the company, with Toshiba taking the rest. The new company will be headquartered at Fuchu, Tokyo and its manufacturing activities of build-up products will be concentrated at a new line that will be constructed in existing facilities at Toshiba Microelectronics Center in Kawawaki. The senior management of the company will be appointed shortly. Profile of the new joint venture company
About Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) is the world's largest comprehensive printing company and the top vendor of high-tech photomasks and etching leadframes, both produced by applying fundamental printing techniques and technologies. Initially, the company printed books and magazines but has since expanded its printing technology and diversified its operations to include packaging, decorative materials, electronic components, and information media supplies. DNP has 35,000 employees and its net sales in fiscal 1999 were over US$11 billion. About Toshiba Corporation Toshiba Corporation is a leader in information and communications systems, electronic components, consumer products, and power systems. The company's integration of these wide-ranging capabilities assures its position as an innovator in advanced components, products, and systems. Toshiba has 191,000 employees worldwide, and annual sales of over US$54 billion. Press Contacts: Rey Saida Midori Suzuki
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