Shares of Sharp Corp, Japan's biggest maker of liquid-crystal displays, rose 3.6 percent as investors bet the company's dominance of the flat-panel television market will lift earnings.
The gain also followed a Nihon Keizai newspaper report that said Osaka-based Sharp last month increased monthly production of liquid-crystal display panels by a tenth to 110,000 units, allowing it to make the equivalent of 40,000 more 20-inch TVs. The newspaper report reiterated plans Sharp outlined in January.
The maker of Aquos flat-screen televisions is locked in a battle with South Korean and Taiwanese rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co and Quanta Display Inc (廣輝電子) to be among the first with advanced factories to produce larger glass panels at lower cost.
Sharp's investments may keep it ahead of rivals, analysts said.
"Sharp's No. 1 position in small-sized screens and focus on the more expensive areas such as those for TVs at its larger-sized panel business is easy to understand and appreciate," said Keita Wakabayashi, an analyst with Mito Securities Research Institute.
Samsung Electronics intensified the battle last week when the South Korean company said it will spend 20 trillion won (US$17 billion) over the next seven years on new plants and equipment.
Meanwhile, Sharp is also facing competition in Taiwan, where manufacturers have begun pouring money into new flat-screen plants.
At least four companies in Taiwan -- AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子), Quanta Display and HannStar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶) -- this year are opening some of the world's first so-called fifth-generation factories that can make screens for televisions that measure 30 inches diagonally and larger.
The new plants are helping cut costs by increasing the screens that can be made from a single plate of glass material.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
RSS