Sharp to help set up LCD plant in China

Japan's Sharp Corp, the world's No 4 maker of LCD TVs, said on Monday it will set up a joint venture with Nanjing City and China Electronics Corp to make 8th-generation LCD panels to meet growing demand in China.

Sharp, which competes with Samsung Electronics, Sony Corp in LCD TVs, also said on Monday it would sell all its equipment to make smaller 6th-generation LCD panels to a joint venture set up between Nanjing City and Nanjing China Electronics Panda Group Corp.

The generation-six venture is expected to come online in March 2011, with an initial monthly production capacity of 60,000 glass substrates, to be lifted to 80,000 substrates a month.

Sharp declined to disclose the sum of the equipment sale.

Sharp also said it will set up an LCD research and development centre in Nanjing in April 2010.

Shares of Sharp closed down 0.5 per cent prior to the announcement, in line with a 0.6 per cent fall in Tokyo's electrical machinery subindex.