Samsung, Sony to announce major flant panel joint venture deal

SEOUL (AFP) Oct 28, 2003
South Korean microchip giant Samsung Electronics will announce a major joint venture deal with Japan's Sony Corp. in flat panel operations, officials said.

Samsung said the 1.8 billion dollar deal will be formally announced at 0600

"The deal will help Samsung maintain its global leadership, while Sony will secure a supply of flat panels for televisions and computers," a Samsung official said.

Newspapers said the 50-50 joint venture would be established in South Korea to produce large, seventh-generation liquid crystal display (LCD) panels as early as 2004.

The deal would allow Sony, the world's largest consumer electronics maker, and Samsung to lead the way towards standardizing the global TV monitor format.

So far, Sony has procured all its LCD panels from Japanese firms and market leader LG.Philips LCD, a joint venture between South Korea's LG Electronics and Dutch group Philips Electronics.

Besides using them in their own televisions, Sony, the world's leading TV manufacturer, and Samsung plan to sell them to other companies, Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported.

SPACE.WIRE