Sharp Want to be World's Biggest LCD Maker

From FT.com:

Sharp plans to invest Y380bn ($3.1bn) in a tenth-generation liquid crystal display plant in Japan in an effort to gain a crucial head-start on rival Sony and Samsung.

The plant will be the world’s first to use tenth-generation glass substrates, which can yield six 60-inch or 15 40-inch LCD panels from a single sheet of glass.

Tto boost efficiency, Corning, the glass maker, will have a plant next to Sharp’s, and Dai-Nippon Printing and Kansai Electric Power will also be located on the premises.

The total investment for the LCD “park” in western Japan, will exceed Y1,000bn.

Samsung, Sony and Sharp, the industry leaders, are in a three-way race to produce the largest flat-panel televisions, which command higher margins.

LCD televisions have been hit by severe price competition. In 2006, prices dropped 30 per cent and similar declines are expected this year. Sharp, however, said the average selling price of its LCD TVs increased 4 per cent in 2006, due to sales of larger-screen and high-definition sets in Japan.

Although Sharp is the world’s third-biggest LCD TV maker, after Sony and Samsung, its new plant will give it a significant boost. Sony, which has a joint venture with Samsung to produce LCD panels, will only start production at its eighth-generation plant next month.