Japan's Denso to invest $3.3 billion to bulk up chips business

Writes through with president comments, context

TOKYO, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Japanese automotive supplier Denso 6902.T will invest about 500 billion yen ($3.3 billion) in semiconductors by 2030 as aims to triple the scale of its chips business by 2035 from current levels, the company's president said on Thursday.

Denso, a Toyota group supplier and one of the world's largest makers of auto parts and components, has been ramping up its chip business in recent years, including by forging partnership deals to help it secure more semiconductors.

Last year it said it would take a stake in a chip plant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co 2330.TW is building in Japan with Sony, highlighting how the pivot to electric vehicles and so-called "connected cars" has deepened semiconductor demand from auto companies and their suppliers.

"To expand production, we must ensure the stable procurement of materials. Thus, we will forge strategic partnerships with various companies," Denso President Shinnosuke Hayashi said at the Japan Mobility Show, which officially opened on Thursday.

The company will hire new employees to specialise in electrification and software and also move staff from mature businesses to electrification and software, he said.

($1 = 150.1900 yen)

(Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by David Dolan, Jamie Freed and Edwina Gibbs)