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SVA says no timetable on talks with Sharp

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-02-23 18:41

China's SVA Group said on Monday it had been talking with Japan's Sharp but it had no timetable on any possible cooperation, responding to a report that the firms were considering joint LCD panel production.

Related readings:  SVA, NEC team up to produce LCD in Shanghai  Japan's Sharp fined for price control  Sharp eyes China's cell phone market

SVA and Sharp Corp, the world's No 3 LCD TV maker, had been negotiating for more than a year, but SVA was also in talks with other companies, said an SVA group official, who declined to give details.

Japan's Nikkei Business Daily reported on Saturday that Sharp was in talks with SVA for joint production of LCDs in China as a stronger yen has put pressure on earnings. SVA and NEC jointly operate an LCD factory using fifth-generation technology, while Chinese media reported that SVA was considering investing $2 billion to build a new plant with more advanced sixth-generation technology.

Chinese LCD makers, which have struggled as competition rises and prices fall, will need to spend significantly on higher-generation production facilities if they are to remain competitive, analysts say.