Hitachi, NEC to develop corporate software together

Monday, November 19th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TOKYO (AP) _ Japanese electronics giants Hitachi and NEC Corp. said Monday they will together produce corporate software in an effort to trim costs and speed product development.

The global technological slump has hurt Japan's electronics companies. Hitachi and NEC have said they will focus more on software business to boost profits.

The companies said they plan to start selling jointly designed software by next year. They also agreed to license their components and products.

Partnerships between former rivals are one way electronics makers here are trying to survive tough times as recovery prospects in the global electronics market remain uncertain.