Japanese consumer electronics giants Toshiba and Sharp are in talks on a possible tie-up in the solar power generation field, the companies said yesterday.
“It is true that we are holding talks on the solar cell business with other companies, including Toshiba,” Sharp Corp spokeswoman Miyuki Nakayama said, declining to give further details.
Sharp wants to enhance its solar business further, with its solar cell revenue expected to reach ¥170 billion (US$1.7 billion) globally in the year to Tuesday, up 12 percent from last year, Nakayama said.
Toshiba, which announced its full entry into solar power in January, said the company was also seeking a supply source of solar or photovoltaic cell panels that convert sunlight into electricity.
“We are mulling where to procure panels as we do not make them ... Sharp is one of the companies under our consideration,” Toshiba spokeswoman Hiroko Mochida said, adding that nothing concrete had been decided yet.
Toshiba, which is strong on building systems that distribute generated power, aims to achieve annual sales of ¥200 billion by 2016 in the photovoltaic systems business.
The mass-circulation Asahi Shumbun reported yesterday that Sharp would provide panels to Toshiba, which would in turn supply distribution systems to Sharp.
Another daily, the Sankei Shimbun, said an economic stimulus package the government and ruling party were expected to draw up next month would include ¥2 trillion in spending to mount solar panels on public buildings.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
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