Sharp to invest $1.45 billion in LCD glass

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ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOKYO, Jan. 12 Sharp Corp., the world's biggest supplier of LCD TVs,
said Wednesday it plans to invest 150 billion yen ($1.45 billion) to
build a second plant in Japan to make the glass used in flat-screen TV
panels to counter fierce competition from Asian rivals.

The Osaka-based consumer electronics maker said its new factory in
western Kameya city will start production of the glass known as
substrates in October 2006. It plans to start making 15,000 of the
liquid crystal display panels a month and double production in 2007.

The new factory will increase Sharp's LCD production significantly
because each substrate is able to produce between six to eight panels,
up from only three at its current plant, also in Kameya.

''We need to increase our production capacity,'' said President
Katsuhiko Machida. He said the spread of terrestrial digital
broadcasting worldwide is expected to sharply boost demand for high-
definition LCD televisions.

LCD TVs, with their sleeker design and clearer images, have rapidly
won buyers around the world.

Sharp faces strong competition in LCD TVs but faces strong
competition from South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Philips
LCD Co., which are also investing heavily in production facilities.

Sharp expects to sell 2.7 million LCD TVs in the fiscal year ending
March 31, 4.5 million in fiscal 2005 and 7 million the following year.

Sharp said it anticipates LCD sales of 830 billion yen ($8.03
billion) in fiscal 2005, up 14 percent from its estimate of 730 billion
yen ($7.06 billion) this fiscal year. It trimmed its target for fiscal
2007 to 950 billion yen ($9.19 billion) from 1 trillion yen ($9.68
billion).