Sanyo said Wednesday it will spend 30 billion yen ($245 million) to boost output of lithium-ion batteries for laptop computers. Sanyo Electric will expand production lines at two of its plants in Japan to raise output of the rechargeable batteries to 70 million a month from 60 million, a company spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires.

Sanyo Electric also plans to build a new rechargeable battery plant in Japan in the 2008 financial year, he said, but it hasn't yet selected a site.

Sanyo Electric, which is going through an extensive business restructuring, is the largest producer of lithium-ion batteries for laptop computers, with about a 40 percent share of the global market.