Japan's Sharp said Thursday it will team with a large Chinese manufacturer to build a factory in Nanjing and mass-produce LCD screens for TVs, computers and tablets.
Sharp said it will form a joint venture with China Electronics Corp. (CEC) to manage the project, and aims to begin production in June 2015. The plant will eventually handle 60,000 LCD panels per month, each measuring 2.2 x 2.5 meters, which can then be divided into smaller sizes for consumer products.
Although Sharp is struggling with massive losses and going through a major restructuring to rebuild its finances, the company is still one of the largest LCD display makers in the world and possesses cutting-edge technology. Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported that as part of the deal, Sharp will transfer its technology for producing IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) screens to the venture and will receive payment in the "tens of billions of yen" in return, part of which it will use to fund the new investment.
IGZO allows for higher resolutions and lower power drain than traditional LCD screens, and devices that use the technology are beginning to appear on the market. Sharp has launched smartphones and tablets with IGZO screens, and Samsung Electronics, Asustek Computer and Fujitsu are all releasing laptops that use the technology.
Rumors have long circulated that Samsung and Apple are looking to build smartphones using IGZO screens. A second factory that can produce the technology would help allay fears of being dependent on a single supplier.
The new venture will be called Nanjing CEC-Panda LCD Technology and will be funded by a 17.5 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion) investment, 92 percent from CEC Group and 8 percent from Sharp. It will be officially established in March of next year.
Sharp said the Chinese plant will allow production at lower costs than its current factories, and it will retain the right to buy the panels produced at the new facility.
Sharp has been aggressively pursuing deals with foreign partners to shore up its finances as it looks to recover from deep losses. Since last year it has signed deals with Samsung, Foxconn and Qualcomm for joint production and research.
As a result of a deal announced in August 2009, Sharp and CEC already operate a Chinese joint venture producing smaller LCD panels, to which Sharp transferred some of its older technology. They said at the time they would negotiate a deal to build larger panels in the future.
Sharp booked a ¥545 billion loss last fiscal year but forecasts it can rebound to a ¥5 billion profit during the current period. It said Thursday that the finances of the new deal are already factored into its current forecast.
Follow me on Twitter @sajilpl
Showing posts with label sharp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sharp. Show all posts
Friday, 28 June 2013
Thursday, 27 June 2013
Japan's Sharp to tie with Chinese firm, build LCD panel factory
Japan’s Sharp said Thursday it will team with a large Chinese manufacturer to build a factory in Nanjing and mass-produce LCD screens for TVs, computers and tablets.
Sharp said it will form a joint venture with China Electronics Corp. (CEC) to manage the project, and aims to begin production in June 2015. The plant will eventually handle 60,000 LCD panels per month, each measuring 2.2 x 2.5 meters, which can then be divided into smaller sizes for consumer products.
Although Sharp is struggling with massive losses and going through a major restructuring to rebuild its finances, the company is still one of the largest LCD display makers in the world and possesses cutting-edge technology. Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported that as part of the deal, Sharp will transfer its technology for producing IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) screens to the venture and will receive payment in the “tens of billions of yen” in return, part of which it will use to fund the new investment.
IGZO allows for higher resolutions and lower power drain than traditional LCD screens, and devices that use the technology are beginning to appear on the market. Sharp has launched smartphones and tablets with IGZO screens, and Samsung Electronics, Asustek Computer and Fujitsu are all releasing laptops that use the technology.
Rumors have long circulated that Samsung and Apple are looking to build smartphones using IGZO screens. A second factory that can produce the technology would help allay fears of being dependent on a single supplier.
The new venture will be called Nanjing CEC-Panda LCD Technology and will be funded by a 17.5 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) investment, 92 percent from CEC Group and 8 percent from Sharp. It will be officially established in March of next year.
Sharp said the Chinese plant will allow production at lower costs than its current factories, and it will retain the right to buy the panels produced at the new facility.
Sharp has been aggressively pursuing deals with foreign partners to shore up its finances as it looks to recover from deep losses. Since last year it has signed deals with Samsung, Foxconn and Qualcomm for joint production and research.
As a result of a deal announced in August 2009, Sharp and CEC already operate a Chinese joint venture producing smaller LCD panels, to which Sharp transferred some of its older technology. They said at the time they would negotiate a deal to build larger panels in the future.
Sharp booked a ¥545 billion loss last fiscal year but forecasts it can rebound to a ¥5 billion profit during the current period. It said Thursday that the finances of the new deal are already factored into its current forecast.
Follow me on Twitter @sajilpl
Sharp said it will form a joint venture with China Electronics Corp. (CEC) to manage the project, and aims to begin production in June 2015. The plant will eventually handle 60,000 LCD panels per month, each measuring 2.2 x 2.5 meters, which can then be divided into smaller sizes for consumer products.
Although Sharp is struggling with massive losses and going through a major restructuring to rebuild its finances, the company is still one of the largest LCD display makers in the world and possesses cutting-edge technology. Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported that as part of the deal, Sharp will transfer its technology for producing IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) screens to the venture and will receive payment in the “tens of billions of yen” in return, part of which it will use to fund the new investment.
IGZO allows for higher resolutions and lower power drain than traditional LCD screens, and devices that use the technology are beginning to appear on the market. Sharp has launched smartphones and tablets with IGZO screens, and Samsung Electronics, Asustek Computer and Fujitsu are all releasing laptops that use the technology.
Rumors have long circulated that Samsung and Apple are looking to build smartphones using IGZO screens. A second factory that can produce the technology would help allay fears of being dependent on a single supplier.
The new venture will be called Nanjing CEC-Panda LCD Technology and will be funded by a 17.5 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) investment, 92 percent from CEC Group and 8 percent from Sharp. It will be officially established in March of next year.
Sharp said the Chinese plant will allow production at lower costs than its current factories, and it will retain the right to buy the panels produced at the new facility.
Sharp has been aggressively pursuing deals with foreign partners to shore up its finances as it looks to recover from deep losses. Since last year it has signed deals with Samsung, Foxconn and Qualcomm for joint production and research.
As a result of a deal announced in August 2009, Sharp and CEC already operate a Chinese joint venture producing smaller LCD panels, to which Sharp transferred some of its older technology. They said at the time they would negotiate a deal to build larger panels in the future.
Sharp booked a ¥545 billion loss last fiscal year but forecasts it can rebound to a ¥5 billion profit during the current period. It said Thursday that the finances of the new deal are already factored into its current forecast.
Follow me on Twitter @sajilpl
Saturday, 22 June 2013
Markets stable after sharp falls
21 June 2013 Last updated at 21:33 GMT Continue reading the main story Last Updated at 06:22 GMT
Market indexCurrent valueTrendVariation% variationMarkets regained ground in US afternoon trading, ending a 48-hour slide sparked by comments by the US Federal Reserve.
On Wall Street, shares ended Friday fractionally higher, after recovering from falls earlier in the day that saw European markets close 1%-2% lower.
It came after markets fell sharply on Thursday, a day after the Fed said it may rein in its stimulus programme.
However, on Friday a dissenting member of the Fed's policy committee sharply criticised the statement.
After an official blackout on discussion of the meeting expired, James Bullard, president of the St Louis Fed, said in a statement the Fed's decision to announce details about when it would trim its bond-buying programme was "inappropriately timed".
Mr Bullard said it was a mistake to raise market expectations of an imminent wind-down of the programme.
Explaining his decision to dissent from the central bank's policy decisions for the first time, he claimed the move would damage the Fed's credibility at a time when core inflation - a proxy for long-term inflation trends, currently running at 1% - was well below the Fed's 2% target.
Hawkish tone
The Fed has been trying to support the weak US economy by buying bonds at a rate of $85bn (£54bn) a month, throguh a programme known as quantitative easing (QE).
Continue reading the main story
The bond-buying programme has been seen as a key factor behind the rise in stock markets in recent months, as the cash proceeds from the bond purchases flood through the economy and keep long-term interest rates low.
Another committee member also dissented from the statement, but for the opposite reason to Mr Bullard. Kansas City Fed president Esther George expressed concern that the Fed's bond buying would destabilise financial markets.
Mr Bernanke - who has spent much of his time in office persuading more hawkish colleagues of the merits of QE - was authorised by the Fed's policy-making Open Market Committee to deliver the unusual verbal statement.
Markets reacted to the perceived hawkishness of the committee by significantly bringing forward expectations for when the Fed will start to raise US short-term interest rates from their current historic low of between zero and 0.25%.
Although Mr Bernanke made clear in the statement that the Fed did not expect to raise rates until well into 2015, futures markets priced in a 50% chance of a rate rise by September next year.
China worries
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended Friday 0.3% higher, partly reversing a 2.3% drop on Thursday - its biggest one-day fall of the year.
Technology stocks did badly, after Oracle announced disappointing results, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq index closing 0.2% lower.
Behind the bearish tone was a rise in long-term interest rates, as markets continue to price in expectations that the Fed will start raising short-term US interest rates sooner than previously thought.
The 10-year yield on US Treasuries - the benchmark for the Federal government's long-term cost of borrowing - rose from 2.41% to 2.54%. In early May it stood at less than 1.7%.
The prospect of higher returns in the US dragged the dollar higher against most other currencies, up 0.7% against the euro, 0.5% against sterling and 0.6% against the yen.
It also drove long-term borrowing costs marginally higher in other countries, including the UK and eurozone.
Another factor that spooked markets on Thursday was news of record high borrowing costs in China this week, raising fears of a Chinese credit crunch and a stalling of the world's growth engine.
However, the apparent stress in the country's banking sector appeared to ease somewhat on Friday as the People's Bank of China intervened.
As a result, commodities markets - in which Chinese demand plays a dominant role - had a somewhat mixed day.
The oil price fell further, with Brent crude futures dropping 1.2% to just under $101 a barrel.
Industrial metals - many of which are intensively used in China's construction boom - were more resilient, with copper rebounding 0.7%.
Market indexCurrent valueTrendVariation% variationMarkets regained ground in US afternoon trading, ending a 48-hour slide sparked by comments by the US Federal Reserve.
On Wall Street, shares ended Friday fractionally higher, after recovering from falls earlier in the day that saw European markets close 1%-2% lower.
It came after markets fell sharply on Thursday, a day after the Fed said it may rein in its stimulus programme.
However, on Friday a dissenting member of the Fed's policy committee sharply criticised the statement.
After an official blackout on discussion of the meeting expired, James Bullard, president of the St Louis Fed, said in a statement the Fed's decision to announce details about when it would trim its bond-buying programme was "inappropriately timed".
Mr Bullard said it was a mistake to raise market expectations of an imminent wind-down of the programme.
Explaining his decision to dissent from the central bank's policy decisions for the first time, he claimed the move would damage the Fed's credibility at a time when core inflation - a proxy for long-term inflation trends, currently running at 1% - was well below the Fed's 2% target.
Hawkish tone
The Fed has been trying to support the weak US economy by buying bonds at a rate of $85bn (£54bn) a month, throguh a programme known as quantitative easing (QE).
Continue reading the main story
What's currently worrying global investors isn't just that the Fed seems poised to stop manufacturing all that almost-free money, it is that this could happen at a time when what's happening in China may reinforce a global squeeze rather than counteracting it”End Quote However, on Wednesday, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said that if the US economy continued to show signs of improvement then the central bank could start to slow down its bond purchases as early as this year, and end the programme next year.
The bond-buying programme has been seen as a key factor behind the rise in stock markets in recent months, as the cash proceeds from the bond purchases flood through the economy and keep long-term interest rates low.
Another committee member also dissented from the statement, but for the opposite reason to Mr Bullard. Kansas City Fed president Esther George expressed concern that the Fed's bond buying would destabilise financial markets.
Mr Bernanke - who has spent much of his time in office persuading more hawkish colleagues of the merits of QE - was authorised by the Fed's policy-making Open Market Committee to deliver the unusual verbal statement.
Markets reacted to the perceived hawkishness of the committee by significantly bringing forward expectations for when the Fed will start to raise US short-term interest rates from their current historic low of between zero and 0.25%.
Although Mr Bernanke made clear in the statement that the Fed did not expect to raise rates until well into 2015, futures markets priced in a 50% chance of a rate rise by September next year.
China worries
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended Friday 0.3% higher, partly reversing a 2.3% drop on Thursday - its biggest one-day fall of the year.
Technology stocks did badly, after Oracle announced disappointing results, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq index closing 0.2% lower.
Behind the bearish tone was a rise in long-term interest rates, as markets continue to price in expectations that the Fed will start raising short-term US interest rates sooner than previously thought.
The 10-year yield on US Treasuries - the benchmark for the Federal government's long-term cost of borrowing - rose from 2.41% to 2.54%. In early May it stood at less than 1.7%.
The prospect of higher returns in the US dragged the dollar higher against most other currencies, up 0.7% against the euro, 0.5% against sterling and 0.6% against the yen.
It also drove long-term borrowing costs marginally higher in other countries, including the UK and eurozone.
Another factor that spooked markets on Thursday was news of record high borrowing costs in China this week, raising fears of a Chinese credit crunch and a stalling of the world's growth engine.
However, the apparent stress in the country's banking sector appeared to ease somewhat on Friday as the People's Bank of China intervened.
As a result, commodities markets - in which Chinese demand plays a dominant role - had a somewhat mixed day.
The oil price fell further, with Brent crude futures dropping 1.2% to just under $101 a barrel.
Industrial metals - many of which are intensively used in China's construction boom - were more resilient, with copper rebounding 0.7%.
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