Japanese electronics giant Panasonic said yesterday it was exiting the semiconductor business, selling its loss-making subsidiary to a Taiwanese firm as it struggles with intense competition from China and South Korea. It marks the end for a once iconic Japanese business, with Panasonic seen as a global chipmaking powerhouse in the 1980s and 1990s. The Japanese conglomerate said it was offloading its subsidiary Panasonic Semiconductors Solutions to Taiwan's Nuvoton, with the sale scheduled to take place in June. A spokeswoman for the firm told the news agency Panasonic would receive $250 million. The firm said it was the "best way" in the face of "extremely intense competition with rival firms' business expansion and massive investment".