Sanyo, Quanta Form New FPD TV Venture

Taipei, March 23, 2006 (CENS)--Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. Of Japan and Quanta Computer Inc. of Taiwan have agreed to form a joint venture company for the flat panel display (FPD) TV business.

The new company will manufacture and sell FPD TVs under the SANYO brand. The new company will also continue to expand Quanta' s FPD TV original design manufacturing (ODM) business.

Industry sources said that three parties, including Sanyo, Quanta Computer, and its affiliated Quanta Display Inc. (the No. 4 maker of thin film transistor-liquid crystal display panels in Taiwan) are expected to benefit from the new cooperation tie.

Quanta Computer CEO Michael Wang pointed out that the global sales volume of FPD TVs is expected to shoot up 300% to 400% annually and therefore his company should try to cash in on the rising business. Wang said that Quanta Group has never given up seeking possible growth momentum in the TV market by integrating the group' s available resources and such business is expected to become one of Quanta's major growth engines in the next 10 years.

Quanta Computer shipped about 350, 000 FPD TVs last year, accounting for about 2% of the company's total revenue. The company has been trying to diversify product lines as notebook PCs now account for over 90% of the company's total incomes.

Sanyo currently manufactures and sells about 6.5 million TV sets annually all over the world with major bases in Japan, the U.S., Europe, China, Indonesia and India, but only about 300, 000 units are LCD TV models.

The new joint venture will leverage the strengths of both companies, Sanyo claimed, because it would incorporate Sanyo's R&D teams and manufacturing sites and access to Sanyo's global sales and service network. It will also continue to take full advantage of Quanta Computer' s efficient manufacturing base in mainland China, and its well-developed and integrated supply chain.

In addition, Sanyo continued, the new joint venture would benefit from increased scale of economy, standardized product platforms and shared know-how from both companies. As a result, the new entity will be optimally positioned to supply high-quality products at competitive prices to TV vendors and consumers worldwide.

"With the agreement, " Toshimasa Iue, Sanyo' s president commented, "we have outlined a major realignment of our TV business, within our structural reform and mid-term business plan. Sanyo is aiming at improving business efficiency by undergoing business model changes.

Barry Lam, chairman and CEO of Quanta Group, said that the partnership with Sanyo will enable Quanta to improve efficiency from procurement of parts to sales of finished products and march toward the goal of becoming one of the world' s major TV makers.

Sanyo's Major LCD TV Panel Suppliers
Supplier	Supply Size (inch)
AUO	26, 32
CMO	20, 27, 32
Quanta	26
Sharp	37
LPL	42
Source: DisplaySearch.