Sanyo, Quanta form new FPD TV venture

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on March 23, 2006. It reports that Japan's Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. and Taiwan's Quanta Computer Inc. recently agreed to form a joint venture company for the flat panel display (FPD) TV business.

The new company will manufacturer and sell FPD TVs under the Sanyo brand, while continuing to expand Quanta's FPD TV original design manufacturing (ODM) business. The new joint venture is expected to benefit both Sanyo and Quanta Computer. It will also benefit Quanta Computer's affiliated Quanta Display Inc., which is the No. 4 maker of thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels in Taiwan.

At present, the global sales volume of FPD TVs is expected to shoot up 300 to 400 percent every year. In 2005, Quanta Computer shipped about 350,000 FPD TVs, which accounted for about 2 percent of the company's total revenue. Quanta Computer has been trying to diversify its product lines, because notebook PCs now account for more than 90 percent of the company's total incomes.

Meanwhile, Sanyo currently manufactures and sells about 6.5 million TV sets every year. Only about 300,000 of these units are LCD TV models. The company has major bases in Japan, the United States, Europe, China, Indonesia and India.

According to representatives from Sanyo, the aforementioned new joint venture will incorporate the company's R&D teams and manufacturing sites, as well as its global sales and service network. The joint venture will also take advantage of Quanta Computer's efficient manufacturing base in China and its well-developed and integrated supply chain.