Sony has reportedly decided not to sell its lithium-ion battery unit, according to Sunday media reports in japan. Sony hopes for a turnaround of its battery unit due to a weak yen and a growing demand for smart phone batteries, the Nikkei business daily reported.

For the past two years Sony had been planning to offload the unit, which has struggled recently against cheaper South Korean rivals.

A government turnaround fund tried to broker a sale of the battery business to a Nissan Motor and NEC joint venture earlier this year.

However, talks have stalled and Sony has now told the turnaround fund that it will hold on to the battery unit and develop it as a core business, the Nikkei reported, citing unidentified sources.