WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.
Partnership Foxconn/Sharp to target Apple orders. Apple TV ?
Sharp has announced a strategic alliance with Foxconn (Hon Hai).
Through third-party allotment, four Foxconn subsidiaries will obtain an about 9.88% stake and become the largest shareholder of Sharp. Foxconn will also hold shares in Sharp Display Products (SDP), a joint venture of Sharp and Sony producing large-size panels and modules.
Sharp indicated that Foxconn will procure panels and related modules from Sharp's 10G plant in Sakai, Japan. The procurement will keep the 10G plant at high capacity utilization.
Sharp and Foxconn are suppliers of Apple. Hence this cooperation may be aimed at obtaining orders for Apple TVs. Apple may want to use Sharp's technology to produce Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO) panels for Apple TVs.
Foxconn has been investing in Taiwan-based LCD panel maker Chimei Innolux (CMI). The market believes the cooperation between Foxconn and Sharp will not benefit CMI. Sharp has been replacing CMI as the panel supplier for Apple's iPads, hence cooperating with Sharp seems more beneficial to Foxconn.
