Toshiba May Build Plant Near Portland

Toshiba Corp. said Tuesday it is studying the feasibility of a building a memory chip plant abroad but did not confirm a U.S. trade journal’s report that it will erect a $1 billion facility near Portland.

No decisions have been made on location, form and size of investment, or products to be manufactured at the prospective factory, Toshiba said.

The company issued a statement in reaction to a report in Electronic Engineering Times that it was planning a Portland plant, possibly in conjunction with International Business Machines Corp., for completion next year.

The report said the two companies were negotiating over IBM’s role.

Toshiba suggested in its statement that an investment in the United States makes greater sense because of to recent currency fluctuations.

“The recent drastic appreciation of the yen against the U.S. dollar is one of the factors we are taking into consideration,” the company statement said.