SAN FRANCISCO -- Sony Corp.'s new chief executive is expected to launch a major push toward outsourcing electronics manufacturing to Tier 1 providers, a group of analysts say.

The Japanese electronics giant already outsources production of cell phones (to Flextronics), PS2 video game consoles (to Hon Hai) and laptop PCs (Asustek Computer). However, the company performs most of its own manufacturing -- and even produces its own screen printers, placement machines and AOI.

But earlier this month Sony named Howard Stringer as its new CEO, signaling changes may be coming. As an outsider, Stringer may be more likely to push for outsourcing than his predecessors at Sony, a company notorious for a "do-it-ourselves" approach.

Research firm IDC said Sony is most likely to expand outsourcing to the large companies with which it already does business. Sony is more than halfway through a three-year restructuring plan in which it aims to cut fixed costs by $3.15 billion by streamlining operations and cutting jobs, but profit margins remain razor-thin.

Separately, a Piper Jaffray analyst estimated that if Sony outsourced all its electronics manufacturing last quarter, it would have added $14.5 billion to the EMS sector.

Analysts feel operations in China are the likely beneficiary of any grand scale Sony outsourcing in the future. And there are no guarantees that Sony's current suppliers will gain the most.

"We're watching the emergence of these large vertically integrated companies in China that make everything from plastic moldings to finished laptops," Gartner analyst Martin Reynolds told Reuters news service. "These large Chinese manufacturers are going to squeeze companies like Flextronics."

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