Crash avoidance sensor driving Japanese maker Nippon Ceramic's gains

Tokyo

THE multibillion-dollar business plans being hatched by global carmakers and technology companies for self-driving vehicles depend on a sensor that's less than one inch (2.5 cm) wide and costs all of 92 US cents. And a company you've probably never heard of, Nippon Ceramic Co, controls about half of that market. Its stock is up more than 40 per cent over the past three years and analysts expect profits to nearly double by 2018.

In other words, it's good to be Nippon Ceramic right now.