TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

NEC to Build 256-Megabyte Chip Production Line: NEC Corp. will invest more than $1 billion to build the world’s first semiconductor production line able to make 256-megabyte computer memory chips at the company’s Syushu, southern Japan, semiconductor plant. The chips will have 16 times the capacity of the largest current memory chips, which hold 16 megabytes, or about 16 million units of computer data. Hajime Sasaki, NEC’s executive vice president, said the Tokyo-based company also plans to expand its memory chip plant in Roseville, Calif., in the near future.