Samsung in 'final stages' of JV talks

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is in the final stages of talks with Sony Corp to jointly build a new LCD panel production line and the two may cooperate on another, bigger line, a Samsung source said yesterday.

Sony, which runs a joint venture to produce liquid crystal display (LCD) panels with Samsung, said on Tuesday it would take a one-third stake in Sharp Corp's $3.5 billion LCD panel plant in Japan to meet rising demand for flat-screen TVs.

Sony's LCD production and procurement strategy had been eagerly awaited as other major TV makers including Sharp Corp, Panasonic maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd and Samsung have made public their investment plans.

The move announced on Tuesday had raised concerns in the South Korean market that Sony might not cooperate with Samsung in future projects, although Sony President Ryoji Chubachi pledged to continue running S-LCD, its joint venture with Samsung.

"We've almost wrapped up discussions with Sony for the 8-2 (eighth generation/line 2) production line and it's been going well," said the Samsung source, who asked not be named.

The new plant would be located at the company's LCD production complex south of Seoul. Sony and Samsung, the world's biggest maker of large-sized LCDs, are already operating the 8-1 line, an eighth-generation line in the S-LCD complex.

The investment size for the new line has not yet been set but will likely be similar to the 8-1 line, the source said.

Agencies

(China Daily 02/28/2008 page16)