Hitachi Ltd, Toshiba Corp and other major Japanese electronics manufacturers plan to expand the licensing of their technology to Chinese competitors, a report said on Wednesday.

The move is designed to help to avoid intensifying price competition with local firms and spread Japanese brand names at low cost in the Chinese market, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said.

Hitachi will as early as next fiscal year supply some 500 million yen ($3.9 million) in key components per month, along with technology and engineers to a Chinese firm so it can make projection televisions, it said.

Hitachi will receive fees for providing its expertise and for allowing the company to produce the sets.

Toshiba will also select by March 2006 Chinese companies to which it will provide technology for manufacturing air conditioners and two other items, it said.

The fi0rm will allow them to use the Toshiba brand name for a fee, it said.

Mitsubishi Electric Corp, which provides technology for manufacturing refrigerators to a Chinese firm, will consider expanding the number of items for which it will license technology, it said.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd, which is in a tie-up with Chinese electric appliance manufacturer TCL Holdings Co, will also expand suc0h products to include digital TV sets, it said.

Similarly, Sanyo Electric Co Ltd, which is partnering with home appliance maker Haier Group Co, will do the same to include rechargeable batteries and LCDs, it said.