Fujitsu, NEC, Docomo in smartphone chip JV - Nikkei

August 1 (Reuters) - Japan's Fujitsu Ltd, NTT DoCoMo Inc and NEC Corp will on Wednesday launch a new company to make smartphone chips, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Fujitsu will own more than 50 percent of Access Network Technology Ltd, expected to compete with market leader Qualcomm Inc, the business daily said.

DoCoMo and NEC will each acquire about 20 percent of the company, while Fujitsu Semiconductor Ltd will own the remaining 10 percent, the paper said.

The new company will develop and sell chips that control wireless communications and signals, while production will be outsourced, the Japanese daily said.

Qualcomm is estimated to command 70 to 80 percent of the market for core microchips for smartphones, the daily added.

The three Japanese firms aim to reduce their reliance on the U.S. firm and secure a stable supply through the venture, the Nikkei said.

The venture will also help the companies to gain greater freedom in chip development and enable them to supply to other smartphone makers in the future, the report said.

Access Network Technology will develop products for the LTE (Long Term Evolution) market and pursue next-generation high-speed technologies, the Nikkei added.

Fujitsu had initially planned to establish the company on its own by spinning off of its access network development business, the daily said.