BBC Chinese, Aug 31, 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/business/2011/08/110831_lcd_japan.shtml
(2) Japan Display. Financial Times, Sept 1, 2011 (The Lex Column).
My comment:
(a) I do not think government intervention or funding will work. That is why I opposed Taiwanese government's proposal to combine and/or fund DRAM companies. Fortunately Taiwan legislature stopped teh move in its track.
The Lex Column is available to subsribers only. Here is the full text for this aanalysis.
"The aim of Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, its architect says, is to 'step in when a business has potential but lacks capital.' In the two years since the fund was launched by the Liberal Democratic Party with Y92bn ($1.2bn) of capital and Y800bn of government guarantees, it has done mostly that, seeding a low-cost airline here, an entertainment company there. Now the INCJ plans to go a big step further, investing Y200bn in a new business formed from teh long-established liquid-crystal display units of Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi, three of teh titans of Japan Inc.
"None of these divisions should be starved of funds, in theory: their parents' balance sheets are currently carryinga combined Y1,800bn gross cash. But the combination, to be named Japan Display, makes sense nonetheless. Individually, the small LCD units of Sonyand Hitachi each recorded an operating loss in the year to March; Toshiba's turned a small profit. Each division is strictly non-core, responsible for between 2 per cent and 3 per cent of group sales. By pooling their expertise, teh divisions stand a better chance both of increasing return on capital and attracting more of it. The fact that INCJ will hold 70 per cent of the voting shares should mitigate theimpact of disagreements. Meanwhile, Japan Disply should edge ahead of Sharp as the world's largest maker of screens for smartphones and handheld game players.