Sharp to invest 841 mln dlrs to boost LCD production: report

TOKYO (AFP) Dec 29, 2003
Japanese high-tech firm Sharp Corp. will invest 90 billion yen (841 million dollars) to boost production of large liquid crystal displays (LCDs) in a bid to take on its South Korean rivals, a report said Monday.

The investment will enable Sharp to triple production capacity at a new domestic plant, scheduled to go on line in January, to 360,000 units of 30-inch liquid crystal televisions each month, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said.

A company spokesman could not be reached for confirmation due to the New Year holidays.

According to a US research firm, Sharp had a 13.4 percent share of the global LCD market in 2002, tying for second place with South Korea's LG Philips LCD Co.

With the latest investment, the Japanese firm aims to take on South Korea's Samsung Electronics, the top player in the global LCD market with a 15.1 percent share.

Sharp expects the global market for liquid crystal televisions to surge to 7.5 million units in 2004 from three million in 2003, the daily said.

SPACE.WIRE