NTT Docomo Inc, Japan's biggest mobile phone service operator, said Tuesday it will partner with South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co and other Japanese firms to develop chips for smartphones.

Docomo and Samsung will be joined by NEC Corp Panasonic Corp and Fujitsu Ltd in the venture. Docomo will invest $5.8 million to create a subsidiary in preparation for the start of the partnership, it said in a statement.

Fabricating chips will help the companies reduce their reliance on components supplied by Qualcomm Inc, which dominates the market for semiconductors used in smartphones.

($1 = 78.1000 Japanese yen)

(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

Japan South Korea Smartphone Samsung